


Dark Knights

by TheBeardedOne



Series: The Institute Saga Side Stories [1]
Category: DC Extended Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:55:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeardedOne/pseuds/TheBeardedOne
Summary: The planet Krypton is no more, a single survivor sent to earth, to be found by... Thomas Wayne?An AU centered on Bruce Wayne and his brother, Clark.
Series: The Institute Saga Side Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022299
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

**Part One -The Wayne twins**

The car was driving along the back road towards the distant city, the couple in the back relaxing as their chauffeur expertly guided the car back towards their home. The man in the back gently rubbed his wife's swollen abdomen and gazed lovingly into her eyes, a gaze which was returned in full.

"Back still aching?" he asked, his voice full of sympathetic amusement and the chauffeur hid a smile as the woman nodded, nestling further into her husband's shoulder.

"What the!"

At their chauffeur's exclamation, both of the passengers jolted upright, the woman barely suppressing a wince as she did so, and their gazes snapped round, then up at where something was heading towards them, wreathed in flames. With reflexes born of combat, the chauffeur spun the wheel, sending the car off the road and through the field, his eyes fixed on the incoming projectile, assessing and calculating its path. Slamming the brakes, he spun the car round and glanced back.

"Sir, ma'am, you may wish to duck."

The couple glanced at him, then the man pulled the woman down as the object zoomed by, the wash from its passage rocking the car, then it impacted on the small pond at the end of the field. As the steam rose, the woman gasped and clutched at her stomach.

"He's coming..."

The chauffeur got out of his door and pulled the man out of the way. "Sir, we won't reach a hospital in time but if you remember..."

"You were trained in first aid. Yes, Alfred." the man said, moving to the boot. "Martha, let Alfred help, I'll make sure that whatever that thing was, it isn't a threat."

Martha nodded, then started to take deep breaths as the man opened the boot and extracted a torch and crowbar. Moving through the thickening fog and trying to concentrate despite the cries behind him, he stepped to the edge of the now-lower pond and shone the torch slowly across.

"What is that?"

Moving to the odd shape, he frowned at the strange symbols on the side. "Not Russian or Japanese... in fact, I've never seen anything like that."

Moving round, he reached out and carefully tapped the odd thing, then placed his hand against it when he realized that despite having been wreathed in fire a mere minute ago, it was cool enough to touch. Running his fingers along the thing, searching for a seam or hatch, he didn't notice for a few seconds the glow trailing behind his fingers, then it intensified and formed an outline, then a solid diamond-shape which vanished leaving an opening into a small, fabric lined chamber, one which was occupied.

.

"Sir? Mr Wayne? Thomas!"

"I'm here."

"Congratulations, sir." Alfred said, smiling. "It's a boy."

"More than that." Thomas said, looking down at the small shape in his arms. "Martha? You know how you said that if a miracle somehow happened and we had another child, we should name him after my father?"

Martha nodded, somehow looking beautiful despite the fact that her clothes were rumpled and she was disheveled. Thomas looked at the small boy cradled lovingly in her arms.

"I think a miracle has happened." Thomas said, extending his burden. "I think our Bruce will indeed have a brother."

"Sir..?"

"Alfred, we'll head back to the mansion, then you and I are returning with the lorry." Thomas said, glancing back to the shape in the pond. "I want to know who would place a baby in that thing, and we need to get it somewhere secure before anyone else stumbles across it."

"I... very good, sir. And your son?"

Thomas looked into the car and smiled at the sight of Martha cradling both small boys."

"My _sons_ , Alfred. Bruce and Clark."

"I see, sir." Alfred said, smiling slightly. "Then shall we go?"

* * *

**Part Two - Childhood Adventures**

"Bruce, wait up!"

"Come on, Clark!"

The two seven-year-old boys halted by an old, dry well, and Clark watched as his brother started to move the planks covering it.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?"

"I saw bats flying out of it." Bruce said with a grin. "There must be a cave down there, it'll be a really good den!"

Clark nodded and unwrapped the knotted rope he had slung over one shoulder, then started to look through the bag Bruce had carried.

"Torches, water... string?"

"So we don't get lost." Bruce said, finishing moving the planks and looking down the well. Picking up a small stone, he dropped it.

"One, two."

The sound of the stone hitting the bottom sounded before Bruce had finished the second word and his eyes glinted. "See, plenty of rope. Help me tie it."

Together they tied the rope to a nearby tree and dropped the other end into the well. Bruce shone the torch into the well and they smiled as they saw the final few meters lying on the stone below. Without a word, Bruce picked up his bag, slung it on his back and started to climb down while Clark watched. When he reached the bottom, he waved and Clark climbed down to join him, accepting and switching on the second torch.

"Look, the cave goes towards the house!"

Bruce nodded and moved forwards, Clark close behind him. They silently made their way through the short, narrow passage, then Bruce gasped as the torchlight was swallowed by the cavern in front of them.

"Wow! Look at this, Clark! It's huuuuuuuuuge!"

Clark nodded, playing his torch around the walls, then he frowned.

"There's a path, there. And it goes... there's an arch there!"

Bruce nodded slowly. "I think... I think that's the foundation. Our house is above the cave! Hey, there's light there, must be another entrance, let's go!"

Together, the two boys moved down the narrow path around the edge of the deep cave, moving towards the bricks ahead of them. As they reached the first of the brick arches, Bruce stopped dead and Clark almost bumped into him.

"And how did you get here?"

Clark peered round the suddenly-stiff body of his brother and his eyes widened at the sight of his father and a black-skinned man he had never seen before looking at them from the middle of a smooth, well-lit area liberally strewn with tools, noteboards, desks and pieces of equipment. For only a few moments, he could only stare, then he sighed.

"We're dead."

"No, you're not." their dad laughed as he walked over to them. "Welcome to my secret lab, but it's a secret. How did you get here?"

"Probably the old well." the dark-skinned man laughed as he walked over to a small tap in the corner and reached into a cupboard. Producing two glasses, he filled them with water and carried them over to where Bruce and Clark were staring at him. "Here, have a drink and relax. You're not in trouble. I'm Lucius, your dad's friend, and when you've had a drink, I'll show you how we're going to change the world, and then we'll head up for tea. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get hungry."

Thomas laughed as his sons accepted the proffered drinks. "Come on,. you two. Maybe you can help."

* * *

**Part Three - News Stories**

_"Our main story tonight. Gotham City was rocked to its core by the murder of noted philanthropist and inventor Thomas Wayne, as well as his wife, Martha Wayne, in the area of Gotham known as Crime Alley. Thomas Wayne, founderand primary researcher of WayneTech, made his name single-handedly revolutionizing society with his inventions and discoveries. From room-temperature superconductors which allowed for the creation of the first practical MagLev trains to his overseeing the creation of advanced computational frames utilising special crystal-based technology, allowing households to have computers of power that had previously been limited to governments and corporations, to new sensor devices which have revolutionized medicine, allowing doctors to view the double-helix which is the basis of life, Thomas Wayne was the man who single-handedly allowed us a chance to live in a world which our parents could not have recognized. Awarded six Nobel Prizes for his services to science, Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha are survived by their twin eight-year-old sons, Bruce and Clark Wayne, who are currently in the care of their Butler, Alfred Pennyworth..."_

_._

_"Welcome to Gotham Tonight. Tonight marks the first anniversary of the deaths of Gotham's First Couple, Thomas and Martha Wayne. A police spokesman has confirmed that despite the intensive inquiry which was undertaken, they still have no leads on who was responsible for this terrible deed. At a press conference today, Lucius Fox, acting CEO of Waynetech, expressed his continuing regret at the untimely deaths of two of his best friends..."_

_._

_"This is Gotham News. Today the police have formally discontinued their investigation into the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne two years ago. In a statement made to the press, Commissioner Rogress declared that as no new evidence has surfaced, the case will be put on hold until further notice. The murder shocked all of Gotham and some say that it heralded the rise in crime which..."_

_._

_"I am Jack Ryder and you are wrong!  
_ _"Why? Because you believe that the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne five years ago no longer matters, that it has no effect on you.  
_ _"Well, you are wrong!  
_ _"Thomas Wayne single-handedly revolutionized the electronics industry with his introduction of crystalline molecular circuitry, the room-temperature superconductor... what could he have done had he not been killed? By now, we could have been flying around with jetpacks and driving our hovercars, using environmentally-friendly energy!_  
_"And how much have we progressed since his death? Barely a few paces compared to the giant leaps he gave us!  
_ _"Still think that their murder no longer matters? Well, you are wrong!"_


	2. Different Paths - Same Destination

Clark stared at his brother, worry showing in his eyes. "Do you have to go?"

Bruce nodded slowly. "I have to. I need to work my anger out, to learn what I need to learn."

"And that is?"

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know. There's a Dojo in Japan that I'm going to, then after that... we'll see."

Clark blinked the tears from his eyes. "Is this because... because we're not really brothers?"

Bruce grabbed Clark in a hug which almost managed to break his ribs despite his newly-discovered abilities. "Clark, you heard what Alfred said. It didn't matter to mum and dad where you came from, and it sure as hell doesn't matter to me. You _are_ my brother. So what if you came in the rocket ship in the cave? So what if your DNA has four strands instead of two? In every way that counts, you are my brother, and nothing, _nothing!_ can change that."

For another moment, the two embraced, then Bruce let go and stepped back.

"Darn. You made me get all emotional again. So much for my reputation."

Clark grinned, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks. "Well, someone has to, you know. I'll visit you, see how you're getting on, report on our company..."

"Date all the pretty girls in my absence, get chased by the mums trying to wed you to their daughters, continue to get straight-A's in college even though you're only fifteen." Bruce laughed.

"You get straight-A's too." Clark countered. "And you don't even have to copy my homework."

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, then so simultaneously it could only have been an accident, they sighed.

"I'll miss you, Bruce."

"I'll miss you too, Clark." Bruce said sadly, "But I have to do this."

Clark nodded, then caught his brother up in a final embrace. "I know." he whispered. "I know."

.

* * *

.

Alfred paused by the library door and watched the motionless figure that was sat in mid-air, staring out of the window. After a few moments, the figure half-turned and smiled.

"I know you're there, Alfred. I can hear your heartbeat."

"I should know better than to try and spy on you, Master Clark." Alfred said ruefully as he entered the room. "Practicing your flying again?"

Clark blinked at him, then looked down and his eyes widened. An instant later, he seemed to wobble, then he dropped onto the floor.

"Master Clark!"

"I'm fine. Super-tough, remember?" Clark grinned. "Sorry, Bruce described meditation to me during our last phone call, and I wanted to try it. Sorry for worrying you."

"Not at all." Alfred said his voice mildly chiding and Clark grinned as he stood up.

"Flight, enhanced strength, super-hearing..."

"Laser vision." Alfred added and Clark blushed.

"Oh, yeah. That was... embarrassing. Well, at least it lets me shave."

"Once Lucius was able to find a mirror which _doesn't_ melt when you fire your eye-beams at it." Alfred reminded him and Clark nodded.

"Yeah. He's really fascinated by my powers. Thank goodness, having you and him helping has made adjusting a lot easier."

.

* * *

.

The flying figure somersaulted through the air, hands reaching out and the other trapeze artist caught him with the ease of long practice. The backswing took them to the platform where they dismounted to applause.

"Who's that?"

"Clark!" the other figure shouted, grabbing a rope and sliding down. Reaching the ground, he caught the visitor in a hug, before turning to his mentor.

"Sir, this is Clark, my brother. Clark, what are you doing here?"

"I was nearby and came to check you were OK." Clark grinned. "Nice tights, the leotard suits you."

Bruce laughed and slapped his brother lightly across the head. "If you'll excuse us, sir, we have some catching up to do."

"Not a problem." came the reply. "Be back in an hour, we'll resume practice them."

"So, what happened at the Dojo?" Clark asked.

"Oh, within three years, I was at master-level." Bruce shrugged. "Sensei said that only experience and students of my own could let me improve, so I started looking for other things. Zatara's teaching me escapology, while the Graysons have accepted me as a temporary member while I learn acrobatics."

"Performed yet?" Clark grinned and Bruce nodded, a wry smile on his face.

"Yep, I'm currently an honorary Flying Grayson until I decide to leave. I've still got a more learning to do."

"Un'ca B'uce?"

Clark looked down and smiled at the wide-eyed boy staring up at them. "Hello, who are you?"

Bruce lowered an arm and the boy scrambled up it, perching himself on Bruce's shoulders. "Clark, this is Richard Grayson. Dick, this is my brother, Clark. Say hi."

"Hi c'ark."

"Hello, Dick." Clark smiled. "So, Bruce, is he your protege?"

Bruce's glare would have frozen a lesser man, but Clark simply grinned, having been on the receiving end of it many times before.

.

* * *

.

The sound of moving metal echoed through the cavern and Lucius sat back, watching with a critical eye as the heavy weights moved up and down. After a short while, the movement stopped and Clark slid out from underneath them, sweat lightly beaded on his brow.

"So, what was that?"

"That was three hundred tons, and you're barely breaking a sweat." Lucius said, awe infusing his voice. "You really are growing stronger."

"Faster, too." Clark said. "Flying and running. I think I almost broke the sound barrier last week."

"You'll want to avoid doing that around populated areas." Lucius said, trying to hide his wry smile. "It could get expensive repairing all those broken windows."

Clark nodded as he sat up. "Heard from Bruce lately? Last I heard, he'd left the circus."

"He has." Lucius said. "I directed him to a friend of mine in Africa, a good detective. Said he'll take on Bruce for a bit, show him the rudiments of investigations."

Clark nodded as he began his isometric exercises, pitting one set of muscles against another. Lucius glanced over at the wreckage of the former exercise machine in the corner and hid another smile.

"We found a few more odd isotopes of Kryptonite." he said. "If you are willing, we can see if any of them have any effect on you, there may be something useful this time."

Clark shrugged. "Hmmm, well, as long as it's a small test. Remember what happened with the red? Or the yellow?"

"We found both a blue and and odd phasing Kryptonite." Lucius said. "The phasing one seems to be... phasing regularly, but I am having my scientists look into that one. I won't let any of it near you, regular green Kryptonite is bad enough, even though it makes a superb power source. The blue... not sure about that. The emanations aren't strong, but they're complex."

"Bring it over tomorrow." Clark said with a shrug. "I have several days after that free, so we can find out what it does."

.

* * *

.

_"Welcome to Gotham Tonight! Today, Bruce Wayne, one of the multi-billionaire Wayne Twins, returned to Gotham after spending six years travelling the globe. Re-united with his brother, Clark, the two of them have promised that their twenty—first birthday next week, when they inherit the positions of joint-CEO's of Wayne Enterprises, will indeed be one to remember..."_


	3. Foundations Of Future Justice

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Bruce sat back in his chair, staring at the fireplace as he marshaled his thoughts, then he turned slightly and met his brother's eyes from where he sat in an identical chair.

"Gotham. Despite the cops, despite what you and Lucius have done while I've been... away, it's gone downhill."

Clark nodded. "Yeah. There are more and more gangs every day, more criminals, the police are becoming more corrupt... I don't know what more I can do. They're twisting the law and getting away with it."

Bruce nodded. "I had plenty of time to think, plenty of things to learn. We can guide Gotham back, Clark, but to do it... are you with me?"

"Always." came the instant reply and Bruce rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, steepling his fingers and staring into the fireplace.

"Criminals are, by and large, a superstitious, cowardly lot." he said slowly. "The public need a symbol to rally behind. You tried to provide one in WayneTech while I was away, but it wasn't enough. There's too many criminals out there.  
"What we need is a new symbol. A new legend that'll strike terror into the hearts of the scum who prey on the weak and the innocent, yet will be there to protect the law-abiding majority. People find it hard to support an organisation, but a hero... one who makes a stand, who holds the line against the evil that threatens the citizens of Gotham, they would flock to that banner."

"But the criminals would try to strike at the family of that person." Clark mused. "I wouldn't like to see Alfred hurt..."

"Which is why the new hero must be more then a person, an icon. Greater than human in the eyes of all, able to strike from the shadows and return to them."

"That's not me." Clark noted. "I..."

"I know." Bruce said. "You have as much willpower as me, Clark, and a heart greater than mine. I've been thinking about it and I'm the one who'll be of the shadows."

"You always were the planner." Clark grinned. "The number of scrapes you led us into... and got us out of, for that matter. But I'll back you up, as always. How are we going to do this?"

"We use the Cave as our headquarters." Bruce declared. "I don't have your powers, so I'll need some gadgets to compensate..."

"I know just the thing." Clark grinned. "I saw something really cool when Lucius was showing me round the Waynetech facilities last year, come on."

.

"What is this place?" Bruce asked, looking round. Clark grinned as he activated the lights and led his brother into the enormous, but crowded warehouse.

"This is where the prototypes that didn't make it into mass production ended up." he said. "So, you'll need protection since you aren't bulletproof like me. Ummm, over here."

Bruce looked at the armor in the drawer that Clark had pulled open. "What is that?"

"Prototype commando-infiltration body armor. The plates are based on the outer hull of the rocket-ship I came in, they're very difficult to make and cannot be formed in sizes greater than a meter, but they're proof against anything up to a nuke. Don't stop the impact, though, so they're padded underneath. Designed for lightness and protection, cost is several million should it hit market."

"Cool," Bruce breathed and Clark grinned. "I'll need something that lets me fly, or at least glide."

Clark frowned, then walked to another cupboard. Pulling out a piece of fabric, he laid it on a workbench. "Memory-cloth. Can be cut to any shape, solidifies upon application of a specific electrical current." As he spoke, Clark attached a couple of wire-clips and pressed a button. The fabric suddenly stiffened into a cylinder and Bruce tapped it.

"Limits?"

"Stronger than titanium in tensile terms when active, but not bulletproof. Can be made into any shape hold-able by a rigid frame, such as wings. Do it right and you can get it to fold itself up simply by layering it and activating the layers in a specific order."

"Interesting." Bruce mused. "That'll be better than having to stash hang-gliders across the city. But as for climbing..."

"Over here!" Clark called, pulling out a chest and opening it. "Electro-pulse-propelled grappling hook. The power cell is in the grip, holds a charge for 100 uses and is easily replaced. The hook itself incorporates a small electro-drive system that acts as a temporary air-turbine, only lasts 5 seconds, but allows for limited control of where the hook goes, directed by this thumb-stick. The retraction motor can carry a load equal to three people."

"That. Is. Nice." Bruce said, taking the device and turning it over in his hands. "Expensive?"

"Complex." Clark said. "Each bit is very hard to make, you get a success ratio of less than 2% under test conditions. Not good for mass production."

"But this one works?"

"These twenty do, and we have spare parts as well." Clark said, then paused as Bruce looked at a huge shape in the corner.

"What is that?"

Clark walked across and pulled the tarpaulin off, revealing the vehicle underneath.

"Oh. My. God." Bruce stated as he looked at the camo-painted vehicle. "That looks like the love child of a F1 racecar and a B-2 stealth bomber! What is it?"

"The tumbler?" Clark said, a mischievous smile on his face. "I don't think you'd be interested in that..."

.

The roar of the engine echoed round the empty car park as Bruce hurled the tumbler round in another tight curve. Beside him, Clark spoke as if they weren't missing pillars by mere centimetres.

"The tumbler was a military prototype designed for bridging duties. Although it can be driven by one, it was designed for two, with room in the back for two passengers in an emergency. The idea was two tumblers would leap a gap, using the boost turbine, dragging cables behind them that would allow for an unfolding bridge to be deployed in mere moments."

"Did the jump system not work?" Bruce shouted as he sent the tumbler into a slide, pulling out of it with ease.

"The tumbler worked fine!" Clark replied. "The bridge, however, Lucius said they never could get _that_ to work."

Bruce stopped the tumbler and gazed raptly at the controls for a moment, before turning to grin at his brother.

"Can we have it in black?"

.

"So, Alfred told me you decided on using a bat as your symbol." Clark said as he floated down to where Bruce was using an airbrush to apply black paint to his new outfit. "Why?"

"Bats are creatures of the night, hunters, and they scare people." Bruce said as he de-activated the brush and accepted the plate of sandwiches Clark offered him. "I think that it's time for the criminals to fear the night."

Clark nodded. "So, you're going to be Batman, huh?"

Bruce nodded and Clark grinned. "So, Bat of the night, wingman position open?"

Bruce froze and Clark looked at him. "Bruce? Bruce?"

"night. wing... Nightwing... Batman and Nightwing..."

"I like it!" Clark laughed. "I'll need an outfit!"

Bruce nodded slowly. "Yeah. Clark, we'll need to strike terror into the hearts of criminals, but we have to keep as much mystery as possible, so..."

"Don't use my powers unless necessary." Clark said with a nod. "Or at least downplay them. No fear, I don't want to find the US military trying to dissect me to figure out how to create supersoldiers of their own. Having this much power scares me, and we both know how corrupt governments can get if they think they have all the power."

Bruce nodded, then glanced over at the corner of the cave where the tumbler resided, half its armor missing. "How long before we get the tumbler re-armoured?"

"The final batch is in quality-control now." Clark said. "When it's delivered, I can shape it and install it. Your idea of fitting handholds and a hatch to the top was good."

"You can fly with multiton weights." Bruce shrugged. "Seemed a good idea to set things up so that you could carry the... what do we call it? Calling it the tumbler is just..."

"The Batmobile." Clark grinned, picking up one of the throwing blades that Bruce had made. "Hey, nice shurikan, does it return when thrown?"

"If you throw it right." Bruce replied absently, picking up the airbrush again.

"Batarangs." Clark joked and Bruce almost dropped the airbrush as he tried to restrain his laughter.

"I am _never_ calling them that."

"Bet you will!"

.

"So, what do you think?"

Bruce looked at the outfit Clark was wearing. "Black bodysuit, dark blue wing-symbol extending to arms, matching utility belt... looks good. Nice domino mask."

"Watch this! Clark said and flung open his arms. An instant later, a pair of wings unfolded, almost doubling his armspan. "Since I can fly, I wanted something that stops people realizing that it's me and not the suit that lets me take to the skies. If I hold on to the wings, I can adjust them to look cool, or..." Clark lowered his arms and the wings remained extended, "like this I can carry things and they'll still think it's gliding."

A slight twitch retracted the wings to their stored position and Bruce nodded.

"Nice one. That looks good."

"So, when we finally head out, do we go in the Batmobile?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, let's keep that in reserve for now. If we go out with too many gadgets at first, people may ask questions that we don't want to answer."

Clark nodded. "And that's why you're the leader, Bruce. So. Start big?"

Bruce shook his head. "Small. Let's start with thugs, muggers and other scum. Let rumors start spreading before we go up against the big enemies. The more off-balance they are, the better."

"Sounds like a plan."


	4. An Honest Cop In Gotham

Lieutenant Jim Gordon hid his revulsion under a practiced mask as his partner Eckart returned from extorting free food from the vendor and climbed into the passenger seat of the car. Wordlessly refusing the proffered meat wrap, Jim watched the members of public wandering by.

"All units, back robbery in progress at main and seventh." the radio said. "Shots fired, officer down, hostages inside!"

Without even waiting for his partner to belt in, Jim turned on the engine, slammed into first gear and accelerated, slewing the car round as he activated the siren. Beside him, Eckart cursed as he fought to strap himself in with one hand while trying to scrape up the wrap he'd dropped into his lap with the other. A glance from Jim and he sighed and picked up the radio. "This is unit zero-two-five, on our way."

Jim hurled the car through the sparse night traffic with casual efficiency until he slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel, skidding the car to a halt outside the bank, filling a gap in the police barricade. Climbing out, he moved behind the car and drew his pistol, thumb on the safety.

"Situation?"

"We think there's five robbers in there, but the bank's locked down, security shutters in place. At least three hostages. They have machine guns and have stated that they've rigged the doors with explosives. The negotiator's on his way."

Jim nodded slowly as he squinted at the building, then looked round. Movement above him caught his eye and he blinked, shaking his head.

"What?"

"I thought I saw... never mind." Jim said. After all, there was no way he had really seen a Bat with a three-meter wingspan.

Had he?

Were the rumors actually true?

.

Batman dropped from Nightwing's hold and landed silently on the roof of the bank. Moving without a sound, he ghosted up behind the robber on the roof and grabbed him, applying a sleeper hold. Within five seconds, the robber was out cold and Batman moved to his partner.

"Scanned the door?"

"No traps." Nightwing replied almost as silently. "Everyone else is on the ground floor or the bank vault."

"How do they think they'll escape?" Batman mused as he eased open the door and started down the stairs. Nightwing followed, frowning slightly.

"I can hear... something. Sounds like digging. A tunnel?"

Batman nodded slowly. If Nightwing said he heard digging, then someone was digging. "We'll check it out when we get down there. Numbers?"

"At least six robbers on the shop floor, another three at the vault." Nightwing said. "Five hostages."

"I'll take down the robbers, you protect the hostages." Batman said. "I'll use a flash bomb and IR."

Nightwing nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'll block any bullets. You want me to lead through the door?"

"They might be watching it."

"That's why I said _through_." Nightwing grinned. "The diggers just entered the vault."

.

"What the hell?"

Jim jolted as the shutters were suddenly illuminated from behind, then cursed as the brief sound of gunfire echoed. An instant later, the shutters flexed several times as if impacted from inside, then the bank went silent again.

"What the hell just happened!"

Jim ignored the shouts as he dashed to the corner of the bank. Edging across to the barricaded window, he carefully peered round the edge and his eyes widened at the sight of a black-clad masked man untying the hostages while a second man in a cowl and cape roughly secured the masked robbers. The man in the skin-tight outfit looked up and saluted Jim despite the fact that there was no way he could have seen him, then made a quiet comment to the other man, who turned to glare at the window, then nodded and moved to the staff entrance. Jim blinked, then moved to the entrance where one of the released former hostages was fiddling with the keys.

"Are you okay in there? Who were those two?"

"They called each other Batman and Nightwing." the man replied, still sorting through his keys with trembling hands. "I've got the key, give me a minute to open the shutter."

Jim motioned for the SWAT team to approach, then rolled under the rising shutter as soon as it was high enough. Looking round, he moved to the door that he had seen the duo vanish through and listened before turning back to where the other cops were entering.

"Secure the robbers, get them to the vans. Get the victims to safety." he ordered. "I'm going in."

.

Jim stared in shock at the sight of the six robbers tied up around the large hole in the middle of the vault. Hearing a rustle of fabric, he saw the end of a cloak vanish around the corner of the stairs. Holding his gun firmly, he ran up the staircase, trying to close in on the mysterious duo before they could escape.

.

"He's catching up!"

"I know! I can hear him!" Batman grunted as he followed his partner back to the roof. "Dammit, he's fast."

"I have an idea." Nightwing said.

.

Jim burst out of the doorway and leveled his gun at the cloaked figure on the edge of the roof.

"Hold right there!"

A hand reached out from behind him and grabbed his gun, squeezing it. It withdrew and Jim stared in shock at the bent barrel and crumpled frame of his pistol. He froze as the second figure moved past him and joined the first one, then he drew a breath.

"Batman and Nightwing?"

The cloaked figure remained still, but the one in the acrobat's suit turned and smiled.

"Can I help you, officer..."

"Lieutenant. Lieutenant Jim Gordon. You owe me a new pistol."

The masked man laughed lightly, his smile growing wider. "You pointed it at my partner, what did you expect? We have to be going, you saw the gift we left downstairs?"

"The robbers?"

Nightwing nodded. "We're happy to have helped out, Lieutenant. Perhaps we'll meet again."

Before Jim could form a response, Batman's cloak flared out into wings and he jumped off the building. Nightwing seemed to grow his own wings and he also leaped, leaving Jim to run to the edge and look down, seeing no sign of them.

"What the hell..?"

.

* * *

.

"So, what do we know about these two clowns?" Commissioner Rogress scowled out at the briefing room. "Gordon, You saw them?"

Jim rose and moved to the front of the room.

"All we know for now are that they are known as Batman and Nightwing. Batman is dressed in body armor with a long cape which seem to double as wings. Suit is dark grey with a stylized black bat logo in his chest. Nightwing wears what appears to be a black acrobat's outfit with a blue icon across his chest and arms, matching belt. He also has retractable wings in his outfit.  
"From what they did at the bank, we can assume they are both skilled martial artists. Security footage from the bank indicates Batman is the leader. I must point out that Nightwing is almost inhumanly strong."

To illustrate his point, he held up the evidence bag in which his crushed pistol resided.

"Since Batman is the leader, we can assume he is at least almost as strong. Possibly stronger. Background is unknown, although they have probably been active for a while."

"How do we know that?"

Jim barely glanced at the cop who had spoken. "For several months, we've been hearing rumors of a giant bat and a ninja. I think we now know to whom those rumors refer."

Several murmurs of agreement sounded and Rogress reclaimed the floor.

"Whoever those two are, I want them under lock and key ASAP. They are a threat to law and order and I want them taken down!"

"They left us with almost a dozen bank thieves." Jim noted and Rogress glared at him.

"I don't care! I want their hides!"

.

* * *

.

Jim looked up as a pair of officers escorted a shaking thug through. The thug's voice echoed back up the hallway.

"It was Batman! I shot him three times and he didn't even flinch! He's a monster, a _monster_!"

"Third one this week." said a voice from across the office and Jim met the amused gaze of the recent transfer, Renee Montoya. "Whoever or _whatever_ this Batman is, he's a force for good."

"Tell me about it." Jim agreed. "I thought Rogress would have apoplexy when he saw that kid wearing the Batman T-shirt. Goodness knows how Wayne Enterprises got permission to produce them."

"I hear they're approaching the other heroes, too. Those who are well-known, anyway." Renee said. "Something about a percentage of the profits and WayneTech support. I hear the Flash signed up almost instantly over in Central City, as did that armoured dude in Metropolis. Although I heard WayneTech has him on retainer."

"Corporate superheroes." Jim smirked, then he looked round. "Rogress wants me to quiz the Waynes on how they got permission. I managed to get two tickets for next week's Wayne charity gala, will you cover my back?"

"I don't think Eckart would look good in a dress, so sure." Renee laughed. "Is Barbara going?"

Jim shook his head. "Nah, she's staying over with her friend Pam that night. Schoolwork sleepover."

"Then sure, partner." Renee said with a smile. "I hope you can dance."

.

* * *

.

Jim looked up as the crowd went silent. The announcer at the door stepped forwards and his voice carried across the hall.

"Princess Diana of Themyscera, Ambassador from the Amazons and Lois Lane of the Daily Planet."

"Wow." Renee whispered in Jim's ear. "I heard about her, she rescued the President's son after he crashed on their island, then persuaded her mother that it was time that Themyscera started talking to the rest of the world. A land without men, huh?"

Jim nodded and watched as Diana, clad in her signature red, white, blue and gold outfit, started to circulate, Lois Lane whispering to her occasionally. Jim and Renee started to move closer, then Jim jolted as he was tapped on the shoulder.

"It's Lieutenant James Gordan, right? I recognize you from the papers. And this lovely lady is?"

Jim half-turned and his eyes widened.

"Detective Renee Montoya, this is Bruce Wayne. Mr Wayne, my colleague, Ms. Montoya."

"Enchanted, Ms. Montoya." Bruce said, bowing over her hand and lightly kissing her knuckles. "Please, call me Bruce. May I offer you a drink?"

"Thanks, but not yet. Mr... I mean Bruce." Renee said, flushing slightly. Bruce smiled, then looked thoughtful.

"Montoya... Montoya... You're on the Batman task-force too, aren't you? The one led by Mr Gordon?"

"Jim." Jim said, then silently swore as Bruce grinned at him.

"Jim. Maybe you'd like to meet Diana, the press call her Wonder Woman, you know. I hear she added Gotham to her itinerary after hearing about our two costumed vigilantes. I think she wants to meet them. Come on!"

Jim found himself swept along behind Bruce to where Diana was shaking hands with Bruce's brother.

"...and here he is, my brother, Bruce. Bruce, this is Diana of Themyscera, also known as Wonder Woman, and her friend and sometimes agent, Lois Lane."

"Honored to meet you." Bruce said, bowing over each of their hands. "May I introduce two new friends, Lieutenant James Gordon of the GCPD and Detective Renee Montoya. They're both on the Batman task-force. They may be able to help."

"I would be grateful if you could." Diana said, turning her piercing gaze to Jim. "I was tasked by my mother with contacting as many heroes as possible. According to the ancient prophecies, a great threat is coming, and allies would be useful."

"A great threat?" Bruce asked. "How long do we have?"

"A few more years, I think, maybe a decade." Diana said. "The prophecy mentioned several events which have yet to occur, including an eclipse over Themyscera. The next one is not due for another six years."

"And you wanted our two?" Jim asked. Diana laughed.

"I know not their skills or abilities, but even if they are merely mortal, they would be welcome and more than amongst the ranks of the allies I hope to have by my side."

"Who have you got?" Bruce asked and Diana smiled.

"I already have the Hawk-girl, Vixen, the Flash, Green Arrow, Steel, Dagger, Cloak and Jon Stewart of the Green Lanterns as my confirmed allies." she said. "With the aid of Lois here, I have constructed a list of many more who may prove to be valuable allies..."

.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Lois said as she opened the door to her and Diana's hotel room. "No-one had anything useful to say about where we could contact..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked at the table in the middle of the room, and the large envelope on it emblazoned with the overlapping emblems of Batman and Nightwing. Diana moved forwards, picked it up and extracted the single sheet inside.

"When the time comes, we will be there." she read aloud. "Of that you have our oaths."

Lois' eyes widened, and she and Diana exchanged glances.

"But how..?"


	5. Of Angels And Tears Falling

_"And finally, the circus comes to town! Tickets to the Circus of Talents have sold out and are being re-sold for up to ten times their value. With Ringmaster and magician Zatara, his daughter and master-magician Zatanna as well as the world-famous trapeze family, the Flying Graysons and many other acts besides, it promises to be an evening of fun and wonder for the whole family!"_

.

"Uncle Bruce!"

Bruce turned as a small lad cannoned into him, hugging him as Clark grinned. Behind them, Alfred raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Dick Grayson. Bruce learned acrobatics from his parents." Clark whispered to him as the young boy dragged Bruce off. Alfred's other eyebrow raised briefly, then he nodded.

"I see. I thought... well, I didn't know what to think for a moment."

Clark shrugged. "They got on very well and when Bruce decided it was time to leave, he arranged for the Circus to receive a regular cash infusion. He and Dick got on great, to the point that Dick's parents actually asked him to stand in _loco parentis_ should anything happen to them."

"Just as I thought I had learned all about his adventures." Alfred said, then looked round. "And who are those ruffians over there? They don't look like circus-folk."

"...they aren't." said Clark, frowning and walking over to where the trio of interlopers were crowding an elderly man. "Zatara, I presume? Clark Wayne, it's an honor to meet you at last. My brother told me about you, oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Please, pretend I'm not here."

The oldest of the three glowered at him, then stalked off. Zatara sighed in relief.

"I thought they were trouble." Clark said. "Demanding protection money, yes?"

"They will not get it." Zatara said firmly. "I run a clean circus. I must... wait. Did you say you were Bruce's brother? How is he?"

"He's fine. Heck, why am I telling you? He's with the Graysons now. Dick kind of kidnapped him and dragged him off."

"I wonder if Zatanna knows yet." the old man mused. "She had quite a crush on him when he was here. She was very upset when he decided to leave, tried to handcuff him to the caravan. She turned away for a second and when she turned back, he was gone. Still, we were very grateful when we received his gift. Kept us going."

"Bruce likes to help his friends." Clark laughed.

.

Clark twitched as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Glancing at it, he tapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Emergency across town, armed hostage situation in a skyscraper, Alfred just texted me. I'll put on your suit and deal with it."

Bruce nodded to indicate he had heard Clark's whisper and Clark slipped out from the back of the box while Bruce intently watched Zatanna's magic show. Stepping outside, Clark glanced round to ensure no-one was watching, then he soared into the sky and flew towards the cave as fast as he could without causing a sonic boom.

.

Clark stepped out from behind the bushes, tucking his shirt back in and froze, staring at the flashing red and blue lights outside the big top. Running forwards, he managed to shoulder through the crowd and stopped in the entrance, staring at the two sheet-covered shapes in the middle of the central ring.

"Sir? Bruce is waiting for you at the mansion." Alfred said from behind him. "He sent me to bring you as soon as you returned."

"What... what happened?"

"There was a terrible accident." Alfred said. "This way, please."

.

* * *

.

"Bruce?"

Bruce looked up from the sofa where he sat, cradling Dick Grayson in his arms as the younger boy wept. Beside them, Zatanna leaned in, her face filled with concern and compassion for the young lad while her father stood behind them.

"Bruce, I... What happened?"

"The wires came loose." Bruce said, his voice colder than frozen helium. "The police say it was an accident."

"Three men tried to threaten Zatara yesterday." Clark said slowly. "They were demanding money..."

Bruce met his gaze and both their eyes hardened, then Bruce turned his attention to the now-silent Dick.

"He's cried himself out. I have a a room for him, and a couple of guest rooms if you would both care to stay the night. I need to find out what happened, and who."

Zatara nodded as Bruce rose, carrying the young boy as if he weighed nothing.

.

"What are we looking for?" Clark asked, floating near the platform where the wires had come loose from.

"Signs of sabotage." Bruce growled in full Batman-mode. "Anything up there?"

"No signs of wear and tear here. Minor scratches, but no sharp surfaces."

"The wires weren't cut." Batman said. "I can't find the bolts... Are they up there?"

"Nope." Nightwing replied, scanning the floor. "There's one, there's the other. Looks like the whip-effect of the cable flung them right across the tent." Nightwing swooped down to collect the two bolts and handed them to Bruce. "Odd thing, no sign of the nuts."

"What?"

Batman and Nightwing spun round and met the shocked gaze of Zatanna.

"What are you doing here?"

"This... this is my father's circus, his personal dream come true. Nightmare, now. He wanted to entertain, to perform, to... to..."

Zatanna blinked and then produced a tissue from thin air. Wiping her eyes, she moved forwards and held out her hand. Nightwing placed the bolts in it and she looked closely at them.

"No sign of the nuts at all?"

"None. As if they were never here."

"They weren't." Batman said. "Someone took them. Only the tension of the wires held the bolts in place. When the act started..."

"The bolts came loose and Dick's parents died." Zatanna said, vengeance clanging in her voice. "I want whatever bastard did this."

"Meet us here tomorrow night." Batman said. "We may have something by then."

Zatanna nodded and left. After her bike growled into life and faded away, Nightwing gave his brother a quizzical look.

"I... don't follow."

Batman held up a matchbook. "Look at this. It's from an old circus we watched as children. That means it's either from the old circus showground, or where they trained during winter. Tomorrow, you take Zatanna to the showground. Go on her bike. I'll take the Batmobile and check the winter encampment."

Nightwing smirked and Batman glared at him.

"What?"

"You said you were never going to call it that."

.

* * *

.

"I'm here."

"We know."

Zatanna jolted as the voice spoke out from the shadows, then Batman and Nightwing emerged. "We have two leads. You and Nightwing check one. I'll check out the other."

Batman turned and strode to where the Batmobile waited. Ignoring Zatanna's amazed look, he leapt into it, hitting the button that closed the cockpit. Starting the engine, he put the vehicle in gear and accelerated off. After several minutes of concentrating on diving, he sighed.

"I know you're back there. Get up here and strap in."

For a moment, only silence answered him.

"Richard Grayson, if you don't get up here now, I'm taking you back to Wayne Manor and personally tying you to your bed. Get. Here. Now!"

"Okay." a voice sighed and Dick gracefully squirmed between the seats, dropping into the passenger seat. Batman sighed and triggered his communicator.

"Nightwing, I have a passenger. Yes, him. I'll take him with me, it'll take too long to detour via Wayne Manor. Besides, you two are more likely to find something... yeah. Do that. Batman out."

Dick managed to secure himself in the seat and looked round, eyes wide.

"Wow!"

"Don't touch anything!"

.

The Batmobile stopped in a shower of gravel and Batman jumped out, followed by Dick. Batman sighed and looked down at the red-and-green-clad boy. "Stay close. And why did you choose to wear that?"

"My parents died on stage." Dick said tightly. "It seems right that I should wear it now as I find the one who killed them."

Batman glared down at him, then his head turned. Motioning for silence, he crept across to a barely-standing warehouse from which voices issued.

"...should have seem them drop." laughed one voice. "Splat!"

"Yeah, and all because I took these." a second voice said.

"What'll you do with them?"

"Keep them as trophies. Maybe turn them into cufflinks." came the gloating reply. "I heard that the old man is closing down the circus. Serves him right for not paying."

Batman clenched his fist, then a sudden impact scrambled the world.

.

"Hey, boss, the freak's coming round."

Batman opened his eyes and, fighting against the ache in his head, focused on the trio standing in front of him. Looking round, he found himself tied to a large board. A knife suddenly thunked into the wood and he looked back.

"I used to be a circus brat." the leader said meditatively. "Worked for my Dad. Zucco's Circus. I was a knife thrower. Tony the Blade, they called me. We used real knives, not the fakes others use. I was the best. Tom here, he was the strongman. He could rip phone books in half. Still can. And people, when he has to."  
Another knife hit the board. "Jack was an acrobat. High wire, trapeze, he was making a name for himself. Then dad got himself busted and we had to find a new job."

"Who do you work for?"

A third knife hit the board, this one so close Batman could feel it through his thigh armor. "No-one. We're freelancers, making our way up the ranks of crime. We've got a whole neighborhood under our thumbs, but we decided to expand."

"Which of you three killed the Graysons."

Jack smirked and looked at Tony.

"When word gets round that we killed the bat, no-one will dare to stand against us. But first, let's find out who you are. Tom?"

Tom stepped forwards, hands outstretched, then a heavy shape dropped from the rafters and hit Tom on his head. The shape ruptured, spraying sand everywhere and Tom slowly keeled over, out cold.

"What the... It's Nightwing!"

Jack sprinted for the ladder and rapidly scaled it as Batman clenched his fists and moves slightly, rubbing the rope that bound him against the blade of the knife by his hand. Tony stared up, several more knives ready to throw.

"Jack?"

A scream answered him and Jack fell from the rafters, the rope around his leg causing him to swing helplessly. Tony cursed, then his eyes dropped to the empty target board.

"Shit! Where are... there you are!"

Batman ducked as a knife sliced through the space he had just vacated, then he heard feet on the ladder. Looking round, he ducked again as a second knife sliced past. A moment later, the sound of fighting echoed and Batman pulled out his grappling hook. Firing it, he waited for a second, then hit the retract button. The cable pulled him swiftly to the rafters, where he found himself face-to-face with Tony. Reflex took over and he kicked, sending Tony's last knife arcing towards the floor.

"No! Keep away! Keep away!"

Jerking back, Tony realized too late that there was nothing but empty air behind him. Batman lunged forwards, but his grab missed by bare millimetres and Tony tumbled down, almost drifting towards the unforgiving concrete floor below... until a flying red blur grabbed him and threw him into a huge pile of sandbags. Batman breathed a sigh of relief as Dick released the rope he had used and somersaulted down to stand in front of the dazed gangster. Looking round, Batman saw another dangling rope and used it to get down safely.

"You could have let him fall."

"I know." Dick said quietly. "But it was too quick. I want him to pay, Batman. I want him to pay, but I can't let him just die. That would... I'd be like him if I did that."

"You did good." Batman said. "I recorded his confession."

"Batman!" Nightwing shouted as he charged in, Zatanna hot on his heels. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Batman moved slightly to hide Dick from Zatanna's view. "I found them. Zatanna, call the cops. We'll secure them."

.

"I feel bad about sneaking out on Zatanna." Nightwing said.

"She'll be fine. Girl can throw a mean right hook." Batman replied and Nightwing glanced back at Dick.

"You proved yourself today, Kid." He said. "Hey, Bat, do you think..?"

Batman nodded slowly. "You did good, Dick. But now it's time to choose. You can join us, become the third member of our group, or simply return to living as a child, knowing that justice has been done. The choice is yours."

For a few moments, Dick remained silent, then he spoke. "I'd like to join you, but I know that Uncle Bruce and Uncle Clark would worry. I can't leave them. I'm... sorry."

"You don't have to." said Nightwing, pulling off his mask. Dick's jaw dropped and his eyes snapped to Batman, who nodded.

"Clark? Bruce? You're... wow."

Clark's grin broadened. "Best of both worlds. I'll help you with your new outfit, but you'll need a name for in the field."

Dick frowned for a moment. "I'd like Robin. Mum sometimes teased me, saying I was her little robin red-breast, so..."

"Robin it is." Clark said with a grin. "Now we just need to sneak you back into your room. Tomorrow, we'll see about the rest."

"Welcome to the team, Robin." Bruce said. "Good to have you aboard."

Only silence answered him and Clark glanced back and chuckled.

"He asleep?"

"Out like a light." Clark confirmed, reaching for the roof hatch. "I'll fly us back to keep the ride smooth."


	6. Of Origins Resurgent

_"Welcome to Gotham Tonight. Our main story, the testing of the first manned FTL vessel by WayneTech. In a statement yesterday, the ship's pilot Clark Wayne had this to say.  
_ _"We know, from the Green Lanterns, and other powered individuals, that there are many species in the universe. Some are friendly, some, less so. So my brother and I believe that it is time and past that we find a way to reach beyond our solar system and prove that humans are a race worthy of respect. We may choose to not join the interstellar community, but if that is the case, all will know it was indeed choice and not merely lack of ability. Thank you."  
_ _"Clark Kent will be joined by Green Lantern Hal Jordan, a former test pilot and the first human to join the interstellar peacekeeping force known as the Green Lanterns..."_

"Javelin Mk one, all systems checked and confirmed. Ready for liftoff."

"All systems confirmed." repeated Hal. "Power core stable and engines hot, ready for lift-off. This is one sweet ship. Maybe I can get one for my own use, way more comfy than simply flying round in a green bubble."

"You realize you're live?" Bruce laughed from mission control and Hal grinned at the camera.

"Yep. Can you make another one of these sweet craft? In green?"

"It'll cost." Bruce warned. "I can do it, but in exchange, we'll need some of the Lantern Corps tech."

Hal glanced at Clark, who only grinned back at him and nodded.

"I'll see what I can pry from the Guardians. Heck, they may wish to buy a fleet of these from you. This is one sweet ship."

"It's also a prototype, which is why you were asked for aid." Bruce said. "Okay, all systems reading green from this end. You got your destination laid in?"

"According to Hal here, it's a system named Krypton." Clark said. "No longer inhabited, the planet destabilized. As such, it'll make a good destination point since no-one will be there."

"Ready to launch." Hal interrupted, one hand on the throttle. "Clark, any words before we launch?"

"To the stars we come." Clark grinned. "Let's go!"

Hal pushed the throttle forwards and the Javelin seemed to leap forwards, powering down the runway then hurling itself into the sky.

.

The ripple of FTL shimmered outside the viewport and Clark sat down in the co-pilot's chair.

"I have this shift. You can get some rest."

Hal nodded slowly, his attention on his ring. A moment later, he looked up, his expression confused.

"What is it?"

"I just did a scan of the ship. Most of the tech on board registers as Kryptonian."

Clark blinked. "I can assure you that every piece of tech on this ship was made on Earth."

"I know." Hal mused. "That's not all. _You_ register as Kryptonian. I thought they were all extinct, they died when their planet shattered."

"Does that matter?" Clark asked, scanning the readouts.

"Well, the Guardians hated the Kryptonians. Krypton refused to co-operate with the Corps and threatened to destroy Oa if the Guardians kept intruding. They were a really insular race."

"Kryptonians or Guardians?" Clark asked, causing Hal to laugh.

"Anyway, I haven't sent a report in, yet, but how come you're Kryptonian? And is Bruce one too?"

"It's a long story." Clark said. "Grab me a coffee and I'll tell you."

.

The Javelin dropped out of FTL and both Hal and Clark turned their attention to the displays.

"Local area, no significant debris. Navigation shielding holding."

"Low levels ambient solar radiation, no threat."

"Mapping system now. Asteroid field located, looks like it was Krypton."

"...energy signal detected, faint. It's from... setting co-ordinates now."

"Co-ordinates received." Clark said. "Power to engines, course set. Let's see what that thing is."

.

The Javelin landed gently on the ice sheet and a moment later two figured emerged, one in an environment suit, the other wrapped in a green aura.

"Signal is coming from over there, seems to be a hatch of some sort."

Clark nodded and flew over and looked at the hatch. A moment later Hal landed beside him. "I didn't know you could fly."

"It's a secret." Clark shrugged. "I don't do it much, I prefer being human and if my past became widely known, it would cause trouble for Bruce."

"I ain't telling." Hal said. "The Guardians don't need to know that. They probably don't want to know. How do we open thi... show-off."

Clark grinned as he finished prising open the hatchway, then he glided inside, Hal following closely.

"The signal's over there."

Clark nodded and the two of them flew into a large chamber with a half-dozen pods in it. As they landed in the middle, a hologram sparked into life and a voice sounded.

"What language is that?" Hal asked. "My ring isn't translating it..."

"Kryptonian." Clark said. "Bruce and I both speak it fluently, we're teaching Dick it as well... Krypton destroyed... main colony destroyed by debris... four of us left... stasis pods... house of El?"

"This pod malfunctioned." Hal said from the left, beams from his ring scanning the first pod. "This one too, what the..? This one's still active! There's someone in there!"

"Can we move it?"

"We'll need a power core and I don't know how to rig Krypton-tech." Hal said in frustration.

"Don't worry." Clark replied. "I do. Hal, we have to..."

"Don't worry." Hal said. "I won't tell anyone, not even the Corps. Who is she?"

"According to this list, her name is Kara." Clark said slowly. "Kara of the House of El. I think she's my cousin."

.

* * *

.

"Your cousin?" Bruce asked, looking up from the pod that Clark had placed in the middle of the Batcave. Clark nodded.

"You're better with this tech than I am, can we wake her?"

Bruce turned his attention back to the pod as Alfred and Dick watched from one side. "Yeah, looks like it's almost automatic. You realize that she won't speak english, at first, anyway."

Clark nodded. "Yeah, but we both speak Kryptonian, so we can teach her. Bruce..."

"Yeah." Bruce said, determination suffusing his voice. "She's family. Clark, she'll be confused when she comes out. She may not be solar-charged like you, but she's probably going to be stronger than I am. You'll have to be ready to restrain her if she panics until we can calm her down."

.

Light.

Kara inhaled gratefully as the pod released herand she sat up, rubbing at her eyes.

"Kara of the house of El?"

Kara blinked as the oddly-accented voice.

"Yes?"

"My name is Bruce Wayne, brother of Clark Wayne who was born as Kal-El. You are safe here."

Kara blinked to try and force the surroundings into focus.

"Where... where am I? And where are the others?"

A sigh answered her. "You are on the planet Earth. As for the others, I am sorry. When Clark found you, yours was the only pod still operating."

For a moment it failed to register, then Kara burst into tears. A pair of strong arms enfolded her and she buried her face against the figure's shoulder.

"Let it out." the figure said. "Bruce?"

"I'll have her room prepared." the first voice said. "Bring her up when she's recovered enough to move."

"I will."

.

The beam of sunlight caught her across the face and Kara stirred as she slowly awoke. Sitting up, she looked round at the alien room she was in, then a knock sounded on the door and a grey-haired man entered carrying a tray. Unfolding the short legs attached to the underside of it, he placed it above her lap and removed the cover, revealing a cup of a liquid she had never seen before, but which smelled wonderful, and several unrecognizable things that seemed to be food. A rustle caught her attention and she looked up as the man handed her a white sheet of something, then he bowed and left the room. Frowning, she looked at the sheet, seeing writing on it in formal Kryptonian.

_Kara of El._   
_The man who has given you this note and the food before you is Alfred, he is to be trusted. The food will provide you with sustenance. When you are finished, please put on the over-robe hanging on the back of the door and join us downstairs so that we can talk._   
_Kal-El._

Kara blinked. Kal? The baby son of Jor-El? Alive?

Suddenly determined to find out what was going on, Kara picked up the tined utensil and started to eat.

.

"Welcome back."

Kara paused as the voice spoke and she looked round.

"Kal..?"

"Bruce." The man said. "Kal is this way. Did you sleep well? How was breakfast."

"I... slept fine, thank you." Kara said. "Breakfast was... interesting. I really liked the drink."

"We call it tea." Bruce said. "We have much to discuss. Kal is waiting for you in the conservatory... and so are Dick and Hal."

Kara looked quizzically at him and he smiled. "Dick is family. Clark... I mean Kal and I are his guardians. Kal is my brother, my parents adopted him and he and I grew up thinking we were twins. Even after we discovered his origin, we still think of ourselves that way. Hal... he was with Kal on the mission that found you. He's sworn to secrecy, even from his bosses. He's a Green Lantern."

Kara blinked several times. "A Green Lantern?"

"I know." Bruce said. "Come on, kid. This way. Let's get you introduced, then we'll see about teaching you english."

.

"Well," Clark said as he watched Dick showing Kara around the gardens, "That's another piece of tech explained. A language induction device. Shame it only works on Kryptonians."

"I agree." Bruce said, handing a mug of tea to his brother. "It would have been nice to have been able to simply download all those languages into my head. How many did you give her?"

"Just english." Clark said as Kara pointed out something in the pond. "What do we do with her now?"

"Adopt her." Bruce said. "She's our cousin, but we need a cover story... Perhaps we could claim she's Dick's cousin, come to stay with her remaining family after her parent died? Since she's... how old is she?"

"By our terms, about seventeen." Clark said. "That could work... Kara agrees."

Bruce blinked, then smiled. "You're no longer the only one with super-hearing, Clark. Hmmm, I wonder..."

"Not at once, but yeah." Clark said, effortlessly following his brother's thought processes. "It'll be good having a female on the team."

"First we need to get her fully educated." Bruce said. "I don't know how much reading skill your device imparted, but there's also history, geography..."

"I'll see to it." Clark said. "Remember, super-speed. And I'll teach her how to use her powers, and how to avoid using them where possible. Yes Kara, avoid. I'll explain later, promise. Good."

"That'll take getting used to." Bruce grumbled.


	7. The Growth Of Adversity

Batman and Robin dropped silently onto the roof of Ace Chemicals, followed an instant later by Nightwing and Batwoman, who touched down lightly behind them, Batman looked round slowly.

"Keep alert. We need to separate and find that eco-terrorist before he causes an ecological catastrophe. Nightwing, Robin, check the processing areas. Batwoman, we'll take the labs."

Without waiting for an answer, Batman sprinted silently forwards. Nightwing grinned, motioned for Batwoman to follow her partner, then turned and jogged off with Robin.

"Why does he usually team up with Batwoman?" Robin asked as he leapt over a gap. Nightwing laughed gently.

"Training. She relies too much on her powers, not enough on skill."

"I don't have powers."

"You have skill and ability." Nightwing shot back. "That's why you keep kicking her ass in the blue-kryptonite sparring area."

.

"Left, two figures." Batwoman whispered and Batman nodded.

"Stats?"

"Small, female. Young, maybe a year older than Robin. They're heading for a large vat. Batman? Where did you... okay, I'm coming!"

.

The vat stood in the middle of the greenhouse, a sickly green glow emanating from it as the two figures climbed up onto the walkway surrounding it.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"You know it." the other replied as they walked round the wide tank. "Ace Chemicals are already on the verge of bankruptcy, one more clean-up and they'll go out of business and stop polluting the ground."

"And hundreds of people will lose their jobs." Batman said, grabbing the doubtful figure and pulling off her mask. "Barbara Gordon?"

"Hey, let go!" the other figure shouted, twisting in her captor's grasp. "Get off me, Bitch!"

Batwoman looked down just as the second girl swung a piece of metal at her. Releasing the girl's arm, Batwoman caught the pipe, but the girl turned and ran for the ladder.

"Batwoman!"

"On her!"

Batwoman leaped across the tank and landed just in front of the second figure, who skidded to a stop and began to back up.

"Who... who are you? No! I won't let you get me!"

"Just surrender, girl." Batwoman said, pitching her voice reassuringly. "I won't hurt... watch out!"

The figure tripped on the dropped pipe and Batwoman lunged forwards as she fell into the thick, green liquid.

"Pam!"

Batwoman reached unerringly into the liquid and pulled her out. Glancing round, she leaped down with her burden and dumped the slime-covered shape under a tap, quickly washing off the chemicals. After a moment, the slime flowed away, leaving the green-streaked girl slumped on the floor.

"Pam! Pam!"

"What's going on?"

"You need more security." Batman said, handing Barbara over to the confused guard who had just entered. "But first, you need an ambulance."

.

You're kidding." Robin said from the back seat of the Batmobile. "Barbara Gordon's friend Pamela Isley was the eco-terrorist?"

"Young, passionate, determined and stupid." Batman said. "I don't know how she talked Barbara into helping her."

"They're best friends at school." Robin replied. "Class above mine. I'll see if I can pick up any details tomorrow."

"Be careful." Batman replied, glancing out of the windscreen at the approaching cliff. "Don't risk your identity."

"I know." Robin sighed. "Hey, Kara, you did good."

"Thanks." Kara said, brushing her hair back and looking at her damaged gauntlet. "This glove's a write-off, though. What was in that gunk?"

"I'll examine it in the lab." Batman said as a sudden rush announced their passage through the waterfall and into the cave. A slight jar indicated that they had landed and Batman hit the button to open the cockpit.

"That was refreshing." Clark said, shaking his head so that the drops of water still in his hair were sent arcing. Batman ignored him and pausing only to grab the bag in which Kara's ruined gauntlet rested, headed for the lab. The others watched him go.

"He's getting... darker." Kara said. Clark draped his arm around her and gave her a reassuring hug.

"Yeah, but as long as we're here for him, he'll be fine. Come on. Let's get some food. I'm starved."

.

The hospital ward was almost silent, only a regular beeping interrupting the midnight stillness. The figure in the bed remained still, her pale skin tinged slightly green. On the table beside her, a lovingly-shaped but unpruned bonsai tree seemed to quiver, its branches appearing to reach towards the young teenager.

.

Barbara lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling and fighting to hold in the tears as she remembered how her father had expressed himself. He hadn't shouted, that would have been better, somehow. He had been cold, almost emotionless as he had explained to her how she had disappointed him, how she had betrayed his trust and how her actions had helped land her best friend in hospital, in a coma which the doctors had no idea if she would ever awake. The final act of grounding her had almost come as a relief, as it meant that Barbara no longer had to view herself through her father's gaze.

"Please, Pam." she whispered. "Please wake up. Please."

.

* * *

.

"How was school today?"

"Same as usual." Dick said as he scrambled into the limo. "Most of it I know already, got a bit of homework then out on the town again."

"Master Bruce is attending a social event with Mistress Kara." Alfred said. "I believe that means..."

"Yeah! Robin and Nightwing patrolling Gotham!"

"Clark will be wearing the batsuit, I believe." Alfred said as he navigated through the localized traffic jam around the school gates.

"That's cool." Dick said. "Robin and Batman, making the streets of Gotham safe! Hey, that probably means I get to call shotgun in the Batmobile! I'm so sick of being stuck in the back."

.

"I can't believe we didn't take the Batmobile." Robin grumped as he peered over Batman's shoulder at the ground below. "I mean, yeah, this is cool and all, but I wanted, just once, to be in the passenger seat on a mission."

"Maybe next time, kid." Batman replied as he altered his flightpath. "Seems all quiet here. Let's move to the next quarter."

Robin sighed and turned over, settling down so his head was supported between Batman's shoulders, his gaze fixed on the distant stars.

"I hope uncle Bruce is having a good time." he said quietly. "'cause I'm starting to get..."

"Sirs, an alarm has just sounded at the hospital." Alfred's voice said. "You may wish to check it out, they've sent out a call for a SWAT team."

"Cool!" Robin grinned, twisting round so he could grab onto Batman's shoulders. "I'm secure!"

Batman smiled and his lazy flightpath changed to a fast dive towards the distant building.

.

Jim glared at the large plant which had almost-explosively grown up the side of the hospital, covering almost an entire wing. Although most of the patients had been evacuated, one of them, his daughter's partner-in-crime, had not been located. A rustling noise distracted him and Batman dropped down, his wings collapsing to form a cape. A split-second later, a young lad clad in red and green landed next to him, his yellow wings folding in to become the lining of his short black cape.

"Who's the kid?"

The boy glowered and Batman's lips quivered as he managed to not smile.

"Robin, this is Lieutenant James Gordan. Jim, Robin. He helps out."

"Nightwing and Batwoman?"

"Elsewhere." came the reply. "What's the situation?"

Jim turned back and looked at the hospital. "That plant grew out of nowhere, took less than five minutes to reach that size. They got everyone except Pamela Isley out, they couldn't get into her room."

Screams interrupted Jim's recitation of events and all eyes turned to where the plant was rippling, moving in a way that nature had never intended as it retracted from the hospital, vines and branches curled almost protectively around a large closed flower. A few moments later, the last branch had vanished into the now-broken ground and Jim shuddered.

"Well, that wasn't creepy." he said sarcastically, glancing at his two companions, only to find empty space where they had been. "But _that_ is annoying!"

.

"So what are we doing?" Robin asked as Batman opened the roof access hatch.

"There was something in that flower, or someone." Batman said. "I think it was Pamela. We're heading for her room now to see what happened."

Robin nodded and moved closer to Batman. "That plant was freaky."

"I didn't like how it moved either." Batman admitted. "Here we are."

The door opened to a scene of chaos. The window was gone, replaced by a giant hole in the wall, while the bed was reduced to a mangled pile of metal in the corner. Batman frowned and walked over to the hole, bending down.

"That's odd, the hole was made from the inside."

"What's this?" asked Robin, holding up something. "Looks like a shallow dish."

Batman looked at it and frowned. "That's a Bonsai tree holder... looks like it was used recently, there's still some soil in it. Here, take these and grab a few of those leaves."

Robin accepted the evidence bags and started to gather the odd leaves scattered around the room as Batman examined the remains of the bed.

"Okay, that'll do for now. Let's get back to the cave before the cops arrive."

.

"Those are bonsai tree leaves." Bruce said. "This one has a proper-sized leaf at the end, and a bonsai'd leaf just below it. That just doesn't happen. It shouldn't be possible."

"What worries me is what I saw in that flower-pod." Clark said. "It was a girl, but the pod was... feeding her. Vines attached to her, like life-support. And she was smiling. She seemed asleep, but she was smiling."

"It must have been something in those chemicals she fell into." Bruce mused. "They're complex, and unstable. I couldn't get much of a read on them before they disintegrated into their component parts. I have no idea of what effect it could have had."

"Judging from what we saw, it was freaky." Robin said, shivering slightly. "If I never see plants doing that again, it'll be too soon."

.

Barbara washed her face, trying to remove the tracks of her tears. Someone had taken her best friend from hospital. Turning, her gaze dropped to one of her newest T-shirts. Lifting it up, she scrutinized the logo emblazoned on it.

Barbara Gordon couldn't find her friend, but maybe, just maybe one of the Bat-clan could.

A new member. An independent one.

There was already a Batwoman. This called for another.

A Batgirl.

Her gaze sharpened.

She had a mission.


	8. Study And Searching

Barbara swung in through her bedroom window and quickly shed her outfit as a car pulled up outside. Pulling on a pair of old trousers and a hoodie, she kicked her costume under the bed and sat down at her desk, picking up her pen and looking at the homework she had completed (albeit in a hurry) the previous night.

"Babs?"

"Up in my room." Barbara called and she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. More than one set and she frowned and rose from her chair. Moving across, she opened her door just as her father raised his hand to knock.

"Hi, dad." she said, giving him a quick hug. "How was the charity do?"

"Mainly long and boring." Jim replied with a slight smile. "However, I solved a problem."

Something in his tone alerted her and she looked round her father to see a blond woman smiling at her.

"And she would be?" Barbara asked, her voice reflecting her suspicions.

"Your new home tutor." Jim said. "I met her at the charity event, she's Dick Grayson's cousin, now staying at Wayne Manor. Barbara, meet Kara Grayson. Kara, this is my daughter, Barbara."

Barbara stared at Kara in shock, having a tutor would seriously reduce her ability to search for her missing friend.

"Dad, I don't need a tutor." she whispered and Jim frowned down at her.

"Your teachers disagree, Babs. Your grades have dropped over the last month."

Barbara glared at her father, but his gaze didn't waver and after a few moments she sighed.

"Okay. But why is she here now?"

"Introductions." Kara said, moving forwards and offering her hand. "Your dad doesn't like you being alone, so after he finished interrogating me, he asked if I could pick you up from school rather than have you walk back."

"I'm not a kid!" Barbara protested and both her dad and Kara laughed.

"Just as you predicted, Mr Gordon. You want to tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

Before Jim could answer, the window exploded inwards and a cluster of wooden tendrils swarmed into the room, overturning the bed and heading for them. Before Barbara could even draw breath to scream, Kara grabbed her and with a barked command of "Run!" to her dad, hurtled down the stairs so fast that Barbara thought for a moment she was flying. Behind them, Jim started after them, but a branch wrapped round his waist and pulled him out of the window.

"Dad! Let me go! Dad!"

Kara looked up at the landing, then slowly lowered Barbara to the ground. Ascending the stairs, she peered into Barbara's now-empty room, then bent and picked up a loose leaf. Barbara squirmed past her and dashed to the hole in the wall that had once been her window.

"Barbara..." Kara asked from behind her. "Is this what I think it is?"

Barbara turned and saw Kara holding up her Batgirl outfit.

.

"What's happening?" Clark asked as he finished pulling on his suit.

"Jim Gordon's been captured by the plant that took Pamela Isley and we've just found out who that bat-wannabe is." Bruce replied, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he accessed and checked various databases. Clark blinked as Dick sprinted past to where his uniform was stored, not paying attention to what the adults were talking about.

"Care to enlighten me on the latter?"

"Barbara Gordon." Bruce said. "Kara left her at the police station with a warning to stay put and is on her way back."

"Correction, I'm back." Kara said as she flew down to join them. "I picked this up from Barbara's room, looks different from the last one."

"That's because it is." Bruce said, taking it from her and looking at it. "Hmmm, this plant only grows in twelve places around Gotham."

A few keystrokes changed the main screen to a map with a dozen dots blinking. "We can rule out these seven places, someone would have reported it if the main floral displays of those buildings had decided to leave... these three places are constantly in the public gaze... that leaves a flower shop and an old horticultural experimental site, now deserted. My money's on the latter."

"Do we take the Batmobile?"

Bruce frowned. "We may need it, so yes. But first, we need some special equipment. Nightwing, prep the Batmobile. Robin, Batwoman, with me."

.

Barbara climbed out of the window of her father's darkened office and scrambled onto the roof. Taking a few deep breaths, she oriented herself and started to run. She still didn't know what had grabbed her father, but she'd recognized the leaves it had left behind, her father was probably at the abandoned plant laboratory where she and Pam had used to hang out, and she was going to rescue him.

Even if it meant going against Pam.

Her hand brushed the pouch on her belt where she had placed several batarangs that her father had found at several crime scenes and put into an evidence box in his office. A brief regret flickered through her mind about her lack of skill with them, but she firmly quashed the thought and concentrated on the far more important task ahead of her.

Her father was the only family she had left. And she wasn't going to lose him.

.

Barbara dropped silently off the top of the lorry, landing with an impact-absorbing roll that was second-nature to her. Mentally-thanking her gymnastics training, she slid through the familiar gap in the fence and set off towards the overgrown greenhouse that she and Pam had once used as a secret clubhouse. Finally reaching it, she edged round to the entrance and leaned cautiously round to take a look.

"Whoever you are, come on in." Pam's voice said. "I felt you coming through the grass."

Barbara paused to check her mask was firmly in place, then stepped out, a batarang held firmly in her hand.

"There you are." Pam said from her impromptu throne made from the curved branches of the plant that had grabbed her father. "One of Batman's assistants, hmmm? He must have thought it was unlikely I was here, given he sent only you."

"What have you done with Captain Gordon?" Barbara asked and Pam laughed, the leaves that made her strange outfit rustling with her movement.

"Oh, he's safe. Having a nap, he really needed some rest. When my darling plant's recovered, I'll go back and collect the one I was really after. In the meantime, I'm afraid you'll have to take a nap too."

Warnings screamed in Barbara's mind and she hurled herself sideways as a root thrust up through the ground, curling to try and grab her. Several more roots also emerged and Barbara grabbed a shelf-strut and quickly swarmed up the the rafters.

"Good reflexes." Pam said with a slight smile on her face. "You're just delaying the inevitable, all the plants here obey my will."

"What happened to you?" Barbara asked. "It's not too late, Pamela, the doctors can..."

"Pamela Isley is who I was, but no more! I am Poison Ivy now." came the harsh reply and Barbara felt her heart sink.

"Then why did you want Barbara Gordon?"

Ivy smiled and Barbara noted that her eyes were solid green.

"An apprentice, of course. I had high hopes for her until the Batman interfered and the Batwoman knocked me into the vat."

"You tripped and fell."

"Whatever." Ivy shrugged. "I'm sure Batman told you all about it. But it made me. I was re-born that day. And I want Babs to join me. To be together, forever, in a new garden of eden..."

Barbara shuddered at the passion infusing Ivy's voice, then something made her glance back. Eyes widening, she leapt away from the vine that had almost reached her and managed to grab onto the next rafter. Swinging her legs to gain momentum, she managed to scramble onto the beam, then looked round and realized that she would soon run out of space to flee.

"You may as well give up." Ivy said, leaning back and stretching. "No-one's going to help you, I know. No-one's within a hundred meters of my new kingdom."

Barbara swallowed and pulled out one of her batarangs. Steeling herslef, she flung it at Ivy.

It missed.

Ivy looked at the metal shape that had stuck into the plant several meters from her, then looked back at Barbara.

"What was that supposed to do? Were you trying to distract me for some reason?"

As if in answer to her question, one of the skylights shattered and several figures dropped through, cloaks flaring to slow their falls. Ivy inhaled sharply and Barbara shouted.

"She controls plants! Makes them move!"

The four figures promptly leapt outwards just as a spiked root slammed up through the ground. The ground shook and Barbara found herself falling.

"Gotcha!"

Barbara found herself in Nightwing's arms, then he put her down . She looked round and realized that she was amidst the rafters again.

"How..?"

"No time." Nightwing said. "Keep moving, help keep her distracted. She's only one person, there have to be limits to her concentration. Batwoman's located your dad, she and Batman are retrieving him now. Let's move!"

Nightwing dove off the rafter and Barbara froze for a moment, her mind whirling. Nightwing knew who she was, but how? The only person who could have known was Kara Grayson...

A rustle reminded her of where she was and she somersaulted off the beam. Dropping, she bounced off a support strut and hurled another batarang in Ivy's direction as hard as she could. In a freakish display of accidental accuracy, it bounced off the arm of her plant-throne and ricocheted upwards where it hit an old light, causing it to drop. Ivy had just enough time to look up before the dropping light smashed into her, knocking her onto the floor.

"Oh god... is she..?"

"Still alive." said Robin, dropping to her side and checking her. "She's breathing, but her pulse is... weird. Nightwing?"

Nightwing frowned as Barbara descended to stand by him.

"That's odd, she seems to have sap in her veins... chlorophyll, weird blood cells, that costume isn't a costume, those leaves really are part of her."

"Eeew." Robin commented as he bound her hands behind her, then bound her feet as well. Nightwing moved forwards and picked her up without even a grunt of effort, leaving Barbara gaping at them.

"Got him." said a gravelly voice and Barbara turned to see Batman appearing from behind the throne-plant, followed by Batwoman... who was carrying her father as if he weighed no more than a feather. Batman looked round critically.

"Nightwing, get Pamela Isley somewhere away from any plants before she wakes up. I'd recommend Diamond police station. Batwoman, get Gordon to the hospital. Robin, you're with me. You too, kid."

"That's Batgirl." Barbara protested as Robin smirked slightly.

"We'll see." Batman said, leading them out of the greenhouse. Barbara glanced back, but Nightwing and Batwoman had both vanished. "You have no idea of what you got yourself into tonight."

"How did you find me?" Barbara asked.

"We didn't." Robin said. "Batman worked out where Gordan had probably been taken and we came. How did you know where to go?"

"Poison Ivy used to like this place." Barbara said. "It seemed likely."

Batman nodded and Barbara stopped as they rounded the corner and she saw the vehicle waiting for them.

"What... Is... That?" she asked and Robin answered her.

"That is the Batmobile, and I call shotgun."

"You are in the back." Batman said firmly and Robin's face fell. "Get in."

Robin vaulted into the opening cockpit and Batman dropped into the drivers seat. Barbara gingerly climbed up the armor-plated side and settled into the indicated seat.

x

"Will he be okay?" Barbara asked and Batman nodded.

"He'll be fine. Kara'll make sure he gets safely to the hospital."

"Kara? Kara's Batwoman?" Barbara gasped. "Then... you must be Dick Grayson." Robin scowled and nodded. "That means you and Nightwing are Bruce and Clark!"

Batman nodded and Robin spoke up. "So you know who we are, who are you?"

"Sorry." Barbara said smugly. "Independent hero, secret identity."

"She's Barbara Gordon." Batman said and Robin whistled. Barbara glared at Batman but he didn't seem to notice.

"No wonder you went after Gordon. That was brave of you. Stupid, but brave."

"This from the kid in tights!" Barbara snapped back and Robin drew a deep breath, but stopped when Batman held up his hand.

"Barbara, either you join us, or you stop tonight. If you want to continue, you need training. Lots of it. If you want to stop, you must never speak of what happened this night."

"I was doing fine." Barbara objected, then she sighed. "And I'd be plant-chow by now if you hadn't shown up. But what training do I need? I'm a great gymnast."

Robin snorted. "By school standards, maybe. But you're nowhere near our standards. I'm a circus kid, I've been doing acrobatics almost since birth. You need serious training to get up to our level. I'll be happy to help."

"If she does join us, Kara'll be her primary trainer and field-partner." Batman said. "It'll help them both improve. Since Kara's also her home-tutor, she can bring her up to Wayne Manor for her lessons. Including her school lessons."

Barbara made a face, but nodded.

"I'm in. And Batman? Thanks. For saving my dad, I mean."

Batman nodded. "Good. Now, where did you hide your clothes? I'll direct Nightwing to grab them for you and bring them to us so you can get changed and rejoin your dad."

.

_"And our main story on Gotham Tonight, the emergence and capture of a new super-villain. Poison Ivy was captured last night by the Batman and his allies. Formerly known as Pamela Isley, she gained her powers in a freak accident and used them to kidnap Captain James Gordon of the newly-formed Batman Task-force. Although the police have yet to release a statement, Gotham Tonight can reveal that Captain Gordonwas rescued by none other than the Batman and his allies, who also captured Poison Ivy and delivered her to Arkham Asylum where she is being held for trial..."_


	9. Of Heroes Ascendant

The doorbell rang and Barbara heard her father answer it as she finished her essay. A moment later, her father's voice sounded.

"Babs? It's Kara."

"One moment!" Barbara shouted, grabbing her bag and stuffing her work and textbooks into it. Slinging it over her shoulder, she grabbed her helmet from the book-case and clattered down the stairs. Dropping her bag, she accepted the leather jacket her father was holding for her and shrugged it on. Picking her bag up again, she gave her dad a kiss and walked out to where Kara was waiting on her bike.

"Ready?"

Barbara grinned as she tightened the straps of her bag, then settled onto the pillion, holding onto Kara tightly. The bike roared into life and Kara expertly drove off, giving Gordon a quick salute as he smiled after them.

"Looking forwards to this?"

"My adult outfit? Yeah." Barbara grinned. "Thanks for vouching for me."

"If I didn't think you were ready, I wouldn't have supported you." Kara said as she wove through the traffic. "You'll make a great partner."

"I've had lots of training." Barbara replied. "Until I saw Dick do his stuff, I thought I was an excellent gymnast. I mean, I've won medals, and yet he made me look like a disabled granny!"

"He admitted that you've improved over the last few months." Kara laughed. "He didn't like saying so, but he admitted it. He still says he's better, though."

"He is." Barbara admitted. "I've learned loads from him."

The two of them rode in silence for a while, then Barbara spoke again.

"Kara, may I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why do we only fight in the blue ring? I go against Batman in several training areas, same with Robin, but you and Clark I only meet in the blue ring. Why?"

"You'll find out tonight." Kara said. "Once you have your new suit."

.

"Wow." Barbara breathed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Turning, she looked at how the cloak flowed with her movements. From behind her, Kara laughed.

"I spent ages looking at myself at first, too. You like the icon?"

Barbara nodded. "It's cool. I love the black bodysuit, and the plates just work."

"You'll need them." Kara said soberly. "They're bulletproof, although it'll still hurt if you get hit. Come on, I'll walk you through the gadgets, then we'll meet the others."

.

Barbara stopped so suddenly that Kara almost tripped over her. Looking up, she smiled when she saw what had halted the younger girl in her tracks, Nightwing lazily gliding round the stalactites, wings retracted.

"Wha... he... how..?"

"You've stopped using complete sentences." Nightwing teased as he glided down, coming to a halt a few inches above the ground. Barbara blinked a few times, then shook herself.

"You were flying." she said, almost accusingly and Clark laughed.

"Yep. I can fly. So can Kara. You're one of us now, so you should know, she's really my cousin, not Dick's, and we're both aliens. Bruce isn't, he's human, so's Dick."

"You're kidding." Barbara stated. "You and Bruce are twins. How can you be alien while he's human? I don't buy it."

"You should." Bruce said from one side. "My parents adopted him on the same day I was born, they found him in a rocket ship. They raised us as brothers. We didn't realize we weren't blood-related until we hit our teens and a recording device in the rocket-ship activated. Didn't matter, we're brothers and nothing can change that."

"The rocket ship?" Kara asked quietly and both Bruce and Clark grinned.

"The basis of the superior tech made by WayneTech." Clark replied. "Our dad reverse-engineered the tech in the craft. We've started to do the same. That's how we made the first Javelin."

"And how they found me." Kara interjected. "Clark flew the Javelin to Krypton to test the drive systems. He and a friend found my pod and brought me back to Earth with them. They saved my life, gave me a new one."

"Robin?" Barbara asked and the answer sounded.

"Bruce studied for a while with my parents, they asked him to be there for me. After my parents were murdered by an extortioner, Bruce took me in and helped me get justice. Hey, nice outfit."

Barbara nodded, her head reeling with what she had learned and Bruce grinned.

"Come on, time for you to learn about our allies. You may be working alongside them at some point. And you need to learn about the villains, some of them are very difficult to go up against. Clark, once I get her set up, we need to check out something odd I discovered."

.

* * *

.

Barbara watched as a new file opened on the screen, a black man in his early thirties wearing a suit of powered armor and carrying a long sledgehammer. Scanning the text, she moved onto the next file, ignoring the noises behind her until she heard Robin's exclamation of disgust. Spinning round, she blinked at the sight of the head that Clark was placing onto a work bench. Standing up, she walked towards it, then almost fell over in shock when it opened its eyes.

"What happened to the real Lucius Fox?" Batman demanded and the head looked at him.

"The original is in storage."

"What is that?" Barbara whispered to Robin, who glanced at her before returning his gaze to the head.

"That is a robot." he said quietly. "Batman realized something was wrong and visited WayneTech's newest factory. When the entire workforce turned out to be robots, they grabbed this robot's head and came here to examine it."

"Eeeew." Barbara whispered, then she frowned. "We can't make robots like that. Where's it from?"

Before she could get an answer, both Clark and Kara grabbed at their heads and staggered. Barbara caught Kara while Dick supported Clark.

"Clark? Kara?"

"I... I'm alright, I think. Something... called me." Clark said, his voice shaky.

"Me too." Kara whispered. "It was... that way. In pain."

Batman frowned. "Kara, in the Batwing. You're guiding me there. Clark, stay here and examine our... visitor. Find out what you can."

"Batwing?" Barbara asked and Clark nodded.

"We finished building it a few days ago. Me, Dick and Kara, mainly. Bruce was working on something else as well. He hasn't told me what, though. He really likes his secrets. I think it amuses him to see our reactions when he shows us."

.

"There's Kryptonian tech in this thing." Clark said. "Looks recent, but it's controlled by something else. Guess whoever built this wanted to take advantage of it, but didn't trust it. Interesting. That looks like something Green Lantern showed me, but he said that species was extinct. This is definitely an alien construct."

The main console beeped and Barbara activated it.

"Batgirl here."

"We have information." Batman said. "They're called the Joining, their mode used to be to strip tech from worlds and move on, now they seize all data as well. They hit Mars several thousand years ago, we didn't have enough tech to attract their attention back then. They've obviously decided Earth is advanced enough to target."

"Nightwing says that the... Joining use Kryptonian tech." Barbara said. "As well as stuff he recognizes from a briefing the Green Lantern gave him."

"Get Nightwing and Robin here." Batman said. "We need to alert all the heroes to the threat."

.

"Lois Lane..." the groggy voice said.

"Ms Lane, Nightwing here." Clark said. "I need to speak with Wonder Woman regarding a planetary emergency, but I don't have her number."

"Hang on." Lois said, sounding more awake. "I'll get her."

Bumps and steps sounded and a moment later, a new voice sounded.

"Diana here. Nightwing?"

"Batman wants to know if the eclipse has occurred."

"Yesterday." Diana said. "Why?"

"Because we've been invaded. Robotic infiltrators. We're contacting all the heroes we have links with, giving them the heads-up. You may wish to do the same. If you have an e-mail address, I'll send over a precis of the data."

"Nightwing!" Robin shouted. "Batman just contacted me. SETI have just detected something big headed for earth, and it's decelerating!"

.

The Batwing landed and Batman leaped out of the cockpit. As he dropped to the ground, Batwoman flew past him and touched down by Clark.

"Status?"

"We've almost finished contacting the heroes on the list," Barbara said, "We've only got a...Alien!"

"It's alright." Batman said, motioning to the green humanoid that had floated down beside him. "He's on our side. He was the telepath who was contacting Clark and Kara. J'ohnn Jonz, codename Martian Manhunter. He has an update for us."

"As I told Batman, they're an ancient race called the Joining." J'ohnn said. "Organic shape-shifters and machines bonded on a cellular level, a hive mind. There are not many of them, their hive mind destabilizes if it gets too large, but they use technology to stabilize and enhance themselves."

"How many?" Clark asked.

"Barely two million, most of whom have integrated themselves into their craft." came the reply. "They use robotic scouts to gain information on their target, then they move in and take what they want."

"How does the hive mind aspect work?" Batman demanded.

"Their lives revolve round their Queen, the only one of them capable of producing offspring. They have a Prime Queen and several reserve Queens in stasis, in case anything happens to their Prime."

"We need to destroy as many of them as possible and take out the Queen." Batman said. "It will be tricky. And public, we can't go back to the status quo afterwards. And it means we need to make some changes to our roster. Clark, Kara, with me."

Barbara watched them go. "I wonder what he's doing?"

.

"So, what did you want?" Clark asked and Bruce sighed.

"This threat, we cannot take down just from the shadows. Not like Mr Freeze, the Joker or any of the others. We need raw power and skill. And there aren't many heroes out there who can reach the level you two can."

"So that means..?" Kara prompted.

"So we need two new heroes who can work in the day." Bruce said. "Robin and Batgirl can take your current mantles as you take new ones. Here, I've been working on these since we met Wonder Woman and I realized that I was holding you two back."

Bruce opened a tall cabinet and Clark and Kara's eyes widened at the contents.

"You'll need new code-names too. Something inspiring. And since the crest of the House of El looks like an S, I had a few ideas..."

.

"Wow!"

Robin's head snapped round at Barbara's gasp and his eyes widened as he saw the two figures flanking Batman. Both were clad in black bodystockings with silver knee-high boots, gauntlets, belts and capes. On their chests were an icon he had seen somewhere else, a silver S encased in a five-sided shield. On their heads, they wore headpieces that left their hair unrestrained, but which supported visors and sidepieces that met under their chins.

"Clark? Kara?"

Clark grinned. "That's Superman and Supergirl, Nightwing."

For a moment, Robin stared at him blankly, then he inhaled. "Me? The new Nightwing?"

Clark nodded. "I know you'll do fine, if you accept."

"Babs," Kara said softly. "Will you take over as Batwoman? I know it's sudden, but..."

Barbara nodded, unable to speak and Kara smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Your new outfits are in the cabinets I told you not to open." Batman said. "Go on, open them now, get changed and get back here. I need to contact Wonder Woman again. And Barbara, sorry your position as Batgirl was so short."


	10. A Gathering Of Heroes

_"...and for all the listeners now tuning in, this is Leslie Willis covering the sudden gathering of super-powered beings and heroes here at the Themyscaran Embassy, also known as the Hall of Justice, here in Metropolis.  
_ _"In response to a summons by Princess Diana of Themyscera, better known as the Amazonian adventurer Wonder Woman, many heroes have arrived and even more are expected. Steel, Metropolis' tech-enhanced knight in shining armor was, naturally, the first to arrive, but many others have shown up. Green Arrow recently appeared, with his partner Red Arrow and his Protégé Artemis, while Aquaman, King of Atlantis, has also arrived. And now Hawkgirl has flown overhead, battle-mace ready. You go, girl!  
_ _"Whatever is going on has the hero world in a... wait. What is_ that _? Ladies and gentlemen, something is coming down the road... it looks like... like some sort of stealth tank on wheels, and it's flanked by two flying people dressed in black and silver and a third, a green-skinned man... It's pulling up outside the Hall and the top is opening...  
_ _"Batman! It's Batman! Gotham's dark knight! And with him are his allies Batwoman and Nightwing! They're heading up the steps now, and Diana's come out to see what's going on... she seems astonished to see them. They're going inside, all of them...  
_ _"Whatever is going on, it must be really, really important to pull the semi-mythical Batman out of Gotham. And the two new heroes? Who are they? What are their powers? When we find out, you'll be the first to know."_

Clark managed to hide his smile at the shocked expression on Diana's face as Batman led them up the stairs.

"Batman... who?"

"Not here." Batman said. "Inside. The others need to see this. Who do we have so far?"

Diana nodded and led them towards the main hall.

"Harkgirl just came, we have Steel, the three Arrows, six Green lanterns from the Corps as well as the non-Corps Green Lantern, Alan Scott. The Flash, Aquaman, Captain Marvel..."

Batman nodded as Diana continued the list.

"I'll need to speak to them. I have the information about the threat.

Diana nodded, but then stopped and faced him. "And the three I don't recognize are..?"

"Heavy hitters. Powerful as Captain Marvel, perhaps more so."

Diana whistled in shock, then continued down the corridor.

"I can tell that this is going to be interesting."

.

"For those who do not know me, I am Batman. Most of you recognize my allies, Nightwing and Batwoman, from the media reports. Here we have Superman and Supergirl, who come to us from another world. In strength terms, they are comparable to Captain Marvel over there, with a similar powerset. They can be trusted. The green man is the source of my knowledge about the threat we face. J'onn. The floor is yours."

"Thank you, Batman. The threat we face is a race known as the Joining..."

.

"Hello handsome." a voice said and Nightwing glanced to one side as a white-gloved hand touched his shoulder.

"Zatanna?"

Zatanna stared at him, confusion showing in her face. "You... know me?"

Nightwing swallowed, then saw Batwoman smirking at him. Fighting to get his brain working, he swallowed again and fought down his rising panic. "We have files on all major players and many of the minor ones. Your magic skills, and those of your father, came to our attention."

"How is that possible?" another familiar voice said and Nightwing managed not to curse, knowing that Zatara was standing behind them. "We have not previously used our magic skills publicly."

"...Batman interviewed Dick Grayson a few years back." Nightwing hedged. "While investigating his parents murders. The subject was mentioned in passing. A dropped comment. It was enough."

"Hmph. I expected better than that, Dick." Zatara said and Zatanna's eyes opened wide.

"Dick? It is you!" Zatanna grabbed Dick and pulled him into a firm hug, then held him out at arms length, looking him up and down. "But how? Nightwing was active long before you left us."

"Long story, and not mine to tell." Dick whispered, noticing the glances they were receiving. "I'll let Batman decide how much to tell you."

"I'm sure Bruce will tell us the whole story." Zatara said, and three jaws dropped. His eyes glittered with suppressed amusement. "Daughter, if you had learned how to read auras as I directed, this would not be coming as a surprise to you."

"Auras." Nightwing sighed. "Dammit."

"It is a useful skill. As is being able to pay attention to more than one thing."

Zatanna nodded and turned her attention back to J'onn's speech.

.

"Alan Scott?"

The green-and-red-clad man turned and smiled.

"Batman. It's an honor to meet you at last. May I help you?"

"Information." Batman replied. "I talked to the other Green Lanterns, but they refused to discuss why you weren't part of the Corps."

"Straight to the point." Alan said. "I approve. I was never part of the Green Lantern Corps, although they do seem to regard me as an honorary member. My powers are similar to theirs, but unlike them, I don't need to recharge since I don't use a power ring. I use the Starheart."

Batman tilted his head slightly.

"It's a mystical gem that bonded with me. Replaced my heart, actually. Keeps me alive. Apparently it channels the excess magic of the universe through me or something like that, I never truly understood what that meant."

"Interesting." Batman mused. "You have the same general hard-light abilities of the other lanterns here?"

"Yes, but I don't mesh as well. My constructs and theirs destabilize each other when in contact."

Batman frowned. "Excess magic... Come with me, I think you should meet Zatara and his daughter. I have a theory..."

.

"You are Kryptonians." the voice accused. Clark and Kara turned to see who had spoken and found themselves facing a red-skinned humanoid. Behind him, a quartet of human with similar outfits listened, as well as a giant in the same colours.

"Is that a problem?" Clark asked and the red-skinned man suddenly smiled and held out his hand.

"Sinestro of the Green Lantern Corps." he said. "My colleagues are Killiwog," the giant nodded, "John stewart, Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordon and... Guy Gardner."

"Yo, Supes." Guy said, moving forwards. "Ready to join the big leagues? Hey, Supergirl, nice to meet you. Guy Gardner, intersteller hero. You may have heard of me."

"More like interstellar pain-in-the-ass." said the only un-masked human lantern. "John Stewart. Retired Marine. Kyle's a graphic artist, Hal's a test pilot. Killiwog's the primary trainer for the Corps."

"Honored to meet you." Superman said with a slight bow. "Hello again, Hal."

Sinestro looked back at Hal, then at Superman. "You've met?"

"It was when Hal and Clark Wayne were testing the Javelin." Clark said, mentally berating himself. "They flew to Krypton, where they helped me to rescue my cousin, Kara, and brought us to Earth. Hal told me that the Green Lantern Corps had a bit of a history with Kryptonians, so Kara and I decided to keep a low profile until now."

"That wasn't in your report." Sinestro said, then he shrugged. "Then again, the Guardians would have been... less than happy about having two Kryptonians on the planet they've recruited _four_ Lanterns from, so I can see why you kept it quiet. We will have to report this, you know."

"I believe that this is the place, sir. That's Superman over there."

The electronic voice somehow cut through the hall and all gazes turned to where a blue-and-gold clad man had just entered.

"Way to blow my big entrance, Skeets."

"Sorry, sir."

Superman moved across and the new arrival stared at him.

"Greetings. You are?"

"Umm... Oh my god, Superman's talking to me! He asked me my name! Hi, I'm... I'm Booster... G-gold... ohgodijustmessedupdidnti!"

The man facepalmed and Superman bit back a laugh.

"Booster Gold. I assume you are here to help with the imminent crisis?"

"Um, yeah. Crisis. Help with. Yeah."

"Splendid." Superman smiled. "I see you're new to this, so please, come with me, I'll take you to Batman."

"Oh wow!" the new arrival said as he followed Superman. "Batman is here? Skeets, this _is_ the right place... this is so _cool_!"

"I thought you planned to call yourself Goldstar, sir?"

"Not now, Skeets!"

Supergirl became aware of the deep silence behind her, then a deep, gravelly voice spoke.

"Who was that pooza? Didn't look like a hero to me."

"I'm sure Batman will know what to do with him." Supergirl said. "I wonder what his powers are?"

"Hey, another girl on the team!" a voice said and Supergirl found herself dragged off. "I'm Hawkgirl, I like your gauntlets. Looks like you're a scrapper too, eh?"

The silence seemed to grow deeper as Supergirl vanished, then John Stewart spoke. "Whoever that winged broad was, she looks like trouble."

"Heh." Guy said with a wide grin. "I like'em feisty."

.

"Alright." Diana said from the podium. "Reports are starting to come in about landings around the world. Batman has come up with a plan of counter-attack which will play to all our strengths. Batman?"

"The main target is the Joining's Hive-ship which is attaining orbit." Batman said. "The primary strike team for that are the six members of the Lantern Corps, Superman, Supergirl, Captain Marvel and J'onn. They are our heaviest hitters. Sinestro will lead the Lanterns, Superman, Supergirl and Marvel will provide cover. J'onn will guide them to the Hive Queen. Zatara, Zatanna and Alan Scott will teleport to Berlin to counter the forces there. Steel, Wonder Woman and the Flash will head to..."


	11. Fighting To protect

[Outer Space]

The whistling of the atmosphere faded and the ten figures closed formation, the six glowing figures leading the way, Sinestro in the lead.

"Radio check." Superman said from under his face-mask. "Report."

"Sinestro, I hear you, Superman." "Hal, signal loud and clear." "Stewart, Semper Fi." "Kyle here, loud and clear. Heh, I'm a poet." "Captain Marvel here, wow! We're in space! This is cool!" "Killiwog, ready to hammer them." "Supergirl, ready for anything." "Guy here, care for a date after this is over, Supergirl?"

 _**I don't think she's your type**_ J'onn broadcast. _**I am detecting the Joining Hive-ship. Sinestro, I am linking to give you it's location.**_

"Got it." Sinestro said, giving the Martian a nod. "Alright lanterns, tighten up, let's do our jobs. For the Corps!"

"For the Corps!" half the team responded as they swept onward.

.

[Paris]

The flare of light would have caused a crowd to form and stare, had they not been fleeing in panic. The three figures that stepped from the flare looked round, quickly assessing the situation, then they rose on a green disc as the oldest one spoke.

"Alan, can you support us and feed us magic at the same time?"

"Not a problem, Zatara." Alan grinned. "I can shield us as well, simply a matter of concentration."

"Excellent." Zatara said as the disc turned into a pale green globe. "Zatanna, you take down the Joining drones while I concentrate on their main ship."

"Understood." Zatanna replied as she turned her attention to the swarm of drones slowly heading towards them. "Wow, I've never felt this much magic before, let's see what I can do with it! Stlob gninthgil!"

Her wand glowed briefly, then a horizontal geyser of lightning blasted out, turning several dozen drones into free-floating atoms. Behind her, her father held out his arms and a long staff, tipped with a silver-glowing crystal, materialized. Pointing it at the main ship, his voice started to sound.

"Trapa llaf slaes lla, tcennocsid sgninetsaf, tsur nori dna liaf rewop..."

The ship seemed to shudder as it slowly sank to the ground, its outer hull starting to shed the protective plates that had protected it from the conventional weapons of the French military.

.

[Gotham]

The drone fell, its ice-encrusted form smashing into pieces and the man who had destroyed it turned his red gaze towards another.

"We cannot let them win." He said emotionlessly. "We must protect Gotham."

"What a hoot!" the white-skinned green-haired man laughed, throwing an arc of razor-sharp metal cards at another drone. The cards sliced deep into the metal and the drone started to retreat. "I'm all for chaos and confusion, but I need an audience! These guys have no sense of humor! I mean, _me_ protecting Gotham! Isn't that just sooooo funny?"

A large drone turned its weapons to target them, then it seemed to stagger as a wooden lance smashed straight through it. A second later, the lance twitched and spikes thrust outwards through its hull.

"Oooh!" the Joker said appreciatively. "I guess it should have stayed off the grass!"

"Less talk, more smashing!" the over-sized masked human said as it threw one of the invading drones into another, causing them both to explode.

"I agree with Bane." a cultured voice said and the diminutive speaker pointed its umbrella at another drone. A laser lanced out and the drone tried to evade as its hull plating started to melt. "We cannot take advantage of the underworld if there is no world for it to feed off."

"Cobblepot is correct." the emotionless man said. "I need the underworld if I am to ever heal my beloved Nora. These things are not usable for that."

"Just a thought," said a leather-clad woman using a whip, "But these things are firing way too many missiles for their size."

"That has entered my calculations." came the cold reply. "I have no explanation at this time."

A police car screeched up and a familiar figure got out, staring at the scene. A second joined him.

"Commissioner, do we arrest them?"

"No." Gordon said, reaching for the radio. "All units, this is Gordon. The supervillains have broken out of Arkham and are engaging the invaders. Back them up."

"Ooooh!" hooted the Joker. "Jimmy! I didn't know you cared! And all this time, I thought you had the hots for Batty! Where is he, by the way?"

"He's at the Hall of Justice in Metropolis, coordinating things." Gordon said, firing his gun at a drone that was trying to approach. "I hear he's got every hero in America mobilized."

.

[Dakota]

Lightning lanced through several of the drones, causing them to explode as the black-skinned young hero flew between them.

"Gear, two more down. How are you doing?"

"The encryption these things are using is ferocious, I can't crack it!" responded his friend. "I'm jamming their communications as much as I can, but it isn't easy."

Before the hero could respond, an explosion sounded behind him. Spinning round, he saw an elongated form reaching out to grab another drone.

"I've got you back, Static!"

"Thanks, Rubber-band!" Static grinned. "Let's show these things they made a mistake picking on us Bang-babies!"

"You tell'em!" a female voice called as a leaping figure landed on a drone and ripped it to pieces. "You provide the shock, I'll provide the awe!"

"Dammit, She-Bang." Satic groused. "I thought you were protecting the east?"

"Dule's on it." She-Bang responded, hurling a shard of metal though another drone. "So's Nail. Come on, it's time to have fun!"

"Static..." Gear said, "I've just been contacted by Batman..."

.

[Central City]

The red blur whisked away the fleeing pedestrians as in the skies, Wonder Woman and Steel fought alongside each other with the ease of long practice.

"This is not going well." Diana said as she hurled a drone across to Steel, who smashed it with a well-aimed blow of his hammer.

"We're holding the line." Steel said, pausing to fire a bolt of energy at a drone trying to attack Diana from behind. "We have to trust the others. You and I both know that you can't fly as fast as those in the main team."

"I know, but I should be up there." Diana complained as she grabbed two more drones and smashed them together.

"You are needed here." Steel said, glancing down at where the ground-attack drones were falling apart. "Wow, the kid's good. If he could fly, he wouldn't need us."

.

[New York]

The Batwing slashed though the cloud of Drones, guns firing.

"Heavy concentration at zero-three-two." Batwoman said and Nightwing nodded as he hurled the Batwing through a screaming turn.

"Missile four away! We're running low on ammo!"

"Batman has a re-supply point nearby." Batwoman said. "Sending the location to your HUD now. What the..?"

Several drones exploded and Nightwing and Batwoman looked across to see a blue-clad girl flying alongside them, holding a glowing golden staff. On the other side, a figure in a white armoured suit nodded to them.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, but I'm scanning to see if they have radios." Batwoman said. "They can hold the line while we re-load."

.

[Metropolis]

Batman frowned as his fingers danced over the keyboards and the screens changed in response to his commands. A comment from one of the screens made his pause, and he reached for the radio.

"Hawkgirl."

"Kinda... busy here!"

"Those things are firing too much ammo. I need one disabled so I can find out how they are doing it."

"You don't ask much, do you?" she replied, weary humor evident in her voice. "How we doing?"

"Holding the line, so far. Us and everyone else." Batman said. "Prime team has commenced assault."

.

[Outer Space]

Sinestro scowled with concentration as he projected a drill-head from his ring. The four human lanterns fused their powers to create a motor which spun the drill-head while Killiwog applied power to push the construct hard againt the hull. The six figures ignored the battle raging round them as they worked to penetrate the hull of the starship.

"I don't need the Wisdom of Solomon to know that we're in trouble!"

"Keep fighting!" Superman said, backhanding a drone so that it smashed into a second, the impact reducing both to sparking wreckage. "The Lanterns are almost through, we need to buy them more time!"

"Easier said than done." Supergirl said as she punched clear through another drone. As it floated away, she glanced at her gauntlets. "I love these things! I'd have bruised knuckles by now if not for these!"

"We're through!" Sinestro exulted. "Lanterns, move!"

The six of them flowed in, then a curse sounded and they retreated, yellow light illuminating them.

"Dammit, we can't fight in there, the Hive has reconfigured!"

Supergirl, Marvel, J'onn, with me!" Superman ordered as he flew into the hole. "Lanterns, keep our backs clear."

"Those poozas won't know what hit them." Killiwog rumbled.

"Yellow light." Supergirl noted as they entered the ship. "Huh, we have strange rocks, they have yellow light. What's the plan?"

"Smash our way to the Hive Queen and persuade her to retreat." Superman said. "If she refuses... we kill her."

 _**That should cause most of the drones to shut down.**_ J'onn noted. _**A good plan.**_

"Heh. You try keeping up with Batman. You soon learn how to plan."

"What are his powers? Why isn't he here with us?" Marvel asked and Supergirl laughed as she punched through a security drone trying to grab her.

"He has no powers, but that makes him more dangerous than us."  
At Marvel's confused glance, she elaborated. "He uses his brains, and he has trained his body to the peak of human ability. He doesn't rely on a power like most heroes, for many of us, our powers become a liability. We rely on them so much, we have problems if they're somehow negated. Most meta's cannot actually fight. Get past their powers, and it's game over for them. Batman knows this."

"She's right." Superman said, using his laser vision to burn through a door that had slammed shut ahead of them. "I may have perfect memory, but Batman's the one who taught me."

 _**He is formidable.**_ J'onn agreed. _**I could not read his mind. We are there.**_

Superman slowed and the other three arrayed themselves around him as they looked at the giant organic thing in front of them.

_**The Hive-Queen. I am trying to communicate with it, but...**_

J'onn's statement suddenly became superfluous as hatches around the central chamber opened and security drones started to flood in.

"Not good." Marvel noted, then the lights cut out. "Really not good."

"Lanterns, ho!"

.

_"This is Daily Planet Live with breaking news! The invasion is over! The Hive-ship, from which the invasion was directed has been destroyed, with all ten of the heroes who went up returning in triumph. Although the world is now counting the cost of repairing and rebuilding, the mood tonight is optimistic. We faced the end of the world, and we survived.  
_ _"Diana of Themyscera gave a short comment. She said that the heroes would aid in helping those left homeless or injured by the invasion, and that a fuller statement would come in a fortnight, by which time the current emergency should be stabilized..."_

.

"Interesting." Batman mused, examining the remains of the drone spread across the workbench. "Steel, we'll need to run a few tests, but if I'm right..."


	12. A New Beginning

Diana stared at the glowing archway and the vortex in it through which Steel had just vanished. Taking a deep breath, she strode through it and found herself elsewhere.

"Welcome to the Watchtower." a familiar voice said and she glanced up to where Superman was floating down towards her. He touched down lightly and smiled. "Batman sent me. He asks that you join him in the Great Hall."

Diana tried not to gawk as she followed Superman through the bustling corridors where men and women in WayneTech uniforms were installing technology behind panels, or fitting lights and controls. When they entered a large hall, she glanced up and her breath caught in her throat. Superman also looked up and smiled.

"Batman insisted." He said quietly. "The main skylight is an artificial diamond, optically perfect and a hundred meters across."

Diana nodded, her gaze not on the window itself, but on what was beyond it.

"I chose to have the orientation of the station set so that Earth was above us." a gravelly voice said. "It's to remind us that although the people of Earth look up to us, we must look up to them if we are to avoid becoming tyrants or conquerors."

Diana nodded again, her gaze fixed on the green-and-blue orb above them.

"Superman told me of your plan to recruit more allies. I approve, but you need to go further."

Diana blinked and lowered her gaze. "What do you mean?"

"A simple alliance will not work. Too unwieldy. You need more. Not a Justice Alliance, you need a Justice _League_. Arranged to be flexible, but fast to respond. Able to direct heroes to where they are needed. And it needs proper leadership."

Diana nodded a third time. "You proved yourself during the recent crisis, Batman, I would be honored..."

"No."

Diana blinked at the interruption. "No?"

"I do not like being in the light." Batman said. "I will help, advise, aid, but I will not be part of the actual League. Consider me a... trusted ally, if you will. You are the most skilled diplomat in the league. Superman here has the most raw power and close links to both me and WayneTech. If you two think you can work together..."

"...joint leadership?" Diana mused. "That... might work."

"I've scouted out more metas who can aid you." Batman said. "And I will be setting up a few squads of my own for covert activities."

"Batman," Superman said, "Can we talk a moment?"

Diana stood in thought as the two men moved to the corner of the hall.

"Bruce, what are you doing?"

"I've held you back long enough, Clark." Bruce said. "You deserve to be in the light. I prefer the shadows."

"But..."

"The Justice League needs an icon." Batman said firmly. "You grew up in Gotham, but you managed to avoid having it stain you. You know how to use your powers, and when not to. You can cope if you lose your powers, something most heroes cannot do."

"But..."

"The hardest point in anyone's life is knowing when to let go." Bruce said softly. "I've held you back, Clark. Yes, you've learned much from me, and I from you, but there's so much more you can learn, that you can do. We need you on the front lines, leading the way. Not following, no more."

Clark dashed away the tears threatening to overflow.

"Bruce, I..."

Bruce grinned. "What, you think I'm throwing you away? No, you're still my brother, now and always. But it is time for you to soar, brother. I have always been proud of you, and I always will."

"Yin to yang. Dark and light." Clark half-whispered.

"Yes." Bruce said, then he hugged Clark firmly. "Now go and be the light we need, brother-mine."

Clark grinned, then glanced round at where Diana was watching them. When he glanced back, Batman was gone.

"Dammit! How do you do that?" he asked and a familiar laugh sounded.

"Practice." a distant voice whispered, knowing that he could hear. "I'll see you at tea, you can tell me how it went."

"So," Diana said as she walked over. "Shall we go over the candidates for the new league?"

"Sure thing." Superman said. "I'm certain that most of those who helped will want in."

"Two of the Lanterns, Hal and John, have already volunteered." Diana said. "I know that Steel is in, and the Flash as well..."

**The Beginning...**


End file.
